My Nonprofit Reviews

I have supported the great work done by The Elephant Sanctuary for more than a decade now. I became aware of them when the elephant I "grew up with" and adored at the Philadelphia Zoo, Dulary, was being transferred to the Sanctuary when the zoo closed their elephant exhibit because it could not meet the needs of captive elephants (so proud of you, Philadelphia!). I was amazed at the facilities TES had and their mission to give former captive elephants back the freedom to be an elephant and choose to live out their days in a natural environment with other elephants (Herd and Home). I had the great privilege in November 2018 to volunteer at the Sanctuary and see the facilities and meet the staff for myself. I cannot say enough about the wonderful care provided by the staff and the commitment they have to honoring the rights of these elephants to live their lives in freedom and to help heal the scars of their prior captivity. TES is an organization that I will always support and is a place filled with love and healing for these magnificent elephants. I only wish there were more places like this in the world and more people like those at TES that cared so much about the magnificent creatures we share this Earth with.

I have been donating to this charity for over 10 years. I became aware of them when the elephant I loved and had "grown up" with at the Philadelphia Zoo (Dulary) was sent there when the Zoo decided to close their elephant exhibit. I have followed them closely since then and just recently had the opportunity to volunteer on-site during one of their volunteer days. I got to see first-hand the conditions of the sanctuary (which are amazing) and the staff (also amazing) who care for these magnificent animals. They do great work day in and day out to care for the elephants and allow them to live as freely as possible as just elephants. All contact is protected and elephants are free at all times to decide what they do. Training for care is done through positive reinforcement. They have also done great work educating the public about the plight of captive elephants and what people can do to help. They are also helping to revitalize the local downtown by creating the Elephant Discovery Center in Hohenwald, TN where the public can go to learn more about elephants and how to help. It is also a wonderful place for school children to visit and they conduct distance learning sessions from there around the world. Just an all-around first rate organization!