My Nonprofit Reviews

I'm on the board of directors of another elephant sanctuary, Wildlife SOS. I've followed Gentle Giants for years and am impressed with their efforts and professionalism. I was particularly impressed during the pandemic when they worked tirelessy to care for elephants and mahouts who were out of work. Top notch organization.

I first learned of Wildlife SOS during my first trip to India. In Agra I saw an emaciated “dancing bear” on the side of the road. He had a rope through his muzzle and his handler would tug on it to make him “dance.” It broke my heart. Back at the hotel, there was a donation bin, “Save the Dancing Bears. Donate to Wildlife SOS.” I donated.

Back home in Salt Lake City, I researched WSOS and learned that, while they are an Indian organization, their U.S. headquarters is in Salt Lake City, my home. The very next year, I learned they now had 600+ sloth bears under their care and had eradicated the dancing bear practice in India. Eradicated? That was shocking to me. This group was actually making changes. Significant changes.

What I like about WSOS is that they don’t just confiscate animals, but look at why the problems exist in the first place. In the case of the dancing bears, it was rooted in a community called the Kalandars, who had danced sloth bears for more than 400 years. This practice was deeply embedded in their culture, and for most of them, it was their sole income.

Wildlife SOS recognized that in order to end the dancing bear practice, they had to help the Kalandar community find alternative livelihoods. WSOS provided seed funds to get the Kalandar people trained and started in new jobs. Some of them became rikshaw drivers; some opened shops; women learned crafts; programs were put in place to educate their children. With these packages, the Kalandar families were more than happy to relinquish their bears.

I started volunteering for WSOS – working on events and fundraisers, and managing the annual WSOS Spring Auction. I joined the U.S. Board of Directors in January 2019. In February 2020 I went back to India on the WSOS Founders Trip, where I was able to tour the sanctuaries with Kartick and Geeta.

The founders are so grateful for everyone who supports Wildlife SOS, whether it’s an artist donating to a fundraiser, a monthly supporter, or the guests paying for the Founders Trip. They make it clear that you are helping them realize their dream of protecting and conserving India’s natural heritage, forests, and biodiversity.

I've been volunteering for Wildlife SOS for two years now. This is how I choose to spend my free time, because I love how the organization operates. They don't just confiscate animals, they look deeper... to the root of the problem and look for solutions that will have ongoing, far-reaching effects. Wildlife SOS is not just about saving animals, but changing the world.

I’ve volunteered, donated, and sponsored animals at the Ching Farm Sanctuary for more than 10 years. Faith Ching runs the sanctuary and is an inspiring woman. The animals are rescued from all kinds of situations. Some were laboratory test animals, some came from neglectful or abusive homes, and a surprising amount were abandoned. Whether permanent or not, each and every animal on the farm is Faith’s baby. She knows the name, story, personality, and quirks of each and every one. She introduces them all as the "best boy/girl of the farm.”

In addition to animal rescue, education and adoption is another important task of the farm. Faith hates to part with any of the animals, but if she didn’t she wouldn’t have room to save more. The farm has very strict adoption criteria with adopters having to provide at least the amount of space and care the animals are already getting at Ching Farm – a high standard to meet. The staff makes site-visits to adopters’ homes to make sure they have the right environment for the animal. They also pay post-adoption visits to make sure the care is kept to an acceptable level.