After 5 years in the State Representative role, I have made the difficult decision to step down completely.
This is due to an increasing work, family and personal commitments which have meant I have not had the time to fully give the TOP SA state rep position. Last year in October I took a hiatus as my workload was increasing, at the time I thought I would be able to take 12 months and regain some energy and get back into the role. I now see that my due to my personal commitments the best thing I can do for TOP is to hand over the role to someone who has the time and energy to keep our SA team moving forward. Amy Nelson has been doing a marvellous role during my break, so a massive thank you to Amy. I will still be involved with TOP as a volunteer as it is an organisation I love and believe in. I am now excited to hand over the baton to the next passionate orangutan supporter to help our brilliant SA team engage even more people and raise even more funds for TOP. If you are interested in this role and would like more information please look at the vacancies on the TOP website. - Jodie
It has been a busy few months in South Australia. Starting off when I received a phone call from Tabitha Eades a very talented artist from Littlehampton in the Adelaide Hills. Tabitha informed me that she had painted a piece called Indelible Bond featuring a mother orangutan holding her baby. She had been displaying this beautiful piece in a local framing store and had been selling raffle tickets to win this painting for an entire month with the idea that the monies raised would be donated to The Orangutan Project and Orangutan Foundation International Australia. By the end of the month she had raised $2400.00 which was divided and presented to myself and Vicki Carter from OFIA at the framing store where we got to see the picture being handed to a very excited raffle winner. The lucky winner and recipient of the painting was Ton Franken who had his eye on the piece from the very beginning and had already chosen where he would be hanging his prize. During the handover we had our photo taken for the local paper. Always an excellent way to get TOP’s name out there. It was such a wonderful day. I would like to take this opportunity not only to thank Tabitha for her kind donation but to commend her on her creative thinking. It is fantastic to see somebody utilizing their strengths and talents to raise funds. It goes to show that fundraising, educating and conservation is such a broad field and I invite everyone to think about your strengths and how you could contribute.
Over the Anzac weekend our enthusiastic troop of vollies headed off to the Pet Expo at Adelaide Showgrounds. Which always promises to be a fun weekend. The first day proved to be very quiet but it soon picked up with the team raising a total of $2806.35. A great effort team! Not only did we raise some money but I know there was a lot of interaction with the public informing people about TOP and a few adoptions, memberships and safeguards were made also.
Coming up on June 27th is our Annual fundraising dinner. This is always a great night. Held at Pondok Bali on Pulteney Street, a beautiful little restaurant in Adelaide. The night promises to be a toastie warm retreat from what is sure to be a chilly night. With amazing Indonesian cuisine, silent auction and an inspirational talk from Kylie Bullo TOP’s Conservation Project Manager. Doors will open at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start. This event normally runs over two nights but unfortunately will only be held on the one night this year. This means it will sell out. So be sure to book your tickets now so you don’t miss out as tickets will not be available on the night. For more information or to make a booking go to the upcoming events link on this website.
Lastly I would like to as always invite anyone who would like to join us for our monthly meeting. It is held on the 4th Wednesday of every month (next meeting 27th of May) at the Adelaide South West Community Centre 171 Sturt Street, Adelaide. Everyone is welcome. Or if you would like more information of joining our team of volunteers in SA you can email me on sa@orangutan.org.au
All the best, Amy
