Throw an Elephant a Lifeline

[Siam Sam]

Elephantstay is a nonprofit elephant rescue and conservation organization with a good breeding program. It's located in Ayutthaya province in central Thailand, about a 90 minutes' drive north of Bangkok. Closely connected with the Phra Kochabaan Foundation, whose mission is to nurture the elephant population, Elephantstay has a good reputation, and the dropdown box under About Us on the website gives a good overview.

Unfortunately, this area has been one of the worst hit in the recent severe threading that has been making the news worldwide, and the elephants have had to be evacuated. If anyone would like to help with a donation, information can be found here. There is direct-deposit information for Thailand and Australia, along with its associated charities in the US and the UK, so you can donate through them (be sure to specify that it's for Elephantstay if you donate through the US charities). Other information can be found under the How to Help dropbox on the website.

The day-to-day operations are in the hands of a pair of Australian ladies, one of them a former senior zookeeper at the Melbourne Zoo. In fact, there will be a charity dinner in the Leopard Room of the Melbourne Zoo on Saturday night, December 3 -- that's a week from this Saturday -- to raise money for flood relief for Elephantstay, and information on that can be found here. I've been told the ticket sales are slow, so if you happen to be in that area, please consider attending.

The night before-- Friday, Dec 2 -- there's some sort of elephant-painting fundraiser at the Art Bar in Greenville, South Carolina, but I don't really know what that's about.

Many thanks to anyone who can help out.