Bowling for Rhinos
Coordinator
Patty Pearthree
Sponsored by
“AAZK’s Bowling for Rhinos-Sponsored by Blue Rhino” fund raiser began on a small scale and is now an AAZK-sponsored North American event raising over $300,000 annually. In 1990, we began by supporting the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (formerly Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary) in Kenya.
AAZK realized that the zoo keepers of the world were extremely conservation oriented and wanted to help save Rhinos and their habitats, yet did not have the financial resources themselves to make any significant impact. That’s when the idea came to start a National bowl-a-thon called Bowling For Rhinos.
The beauty of the idea is that these fundraisers are organized by volunteers, who donate their time and organizational skills to help raise money to send directly to the places in need. Since all the people involved are volunteers, 100% of all donations are sent directly to these in situ rhino conservation areas!
In Kenya Africa we support the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy where our donations help protect both Black and White Rhinos and most of the other species native to East Africa. The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy works as a catalyst for the conservation of wildlife and its habitat. It does this through the protection and management of species, the initiation and support of community conservation and development programs, and the education of neighboring areas in the value of wildlife.
In Indonesia AAZK supports the remaining Javan Rhinos at Ujung Kulon National Park and the Samatran Rhinos in Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas National Parks.
Many organizations participate in these events, and have added the Rocking For Rhinos, Rummage For Rhinos, and Recycling For Rhinos projects as other ways to raise funds for this very worthwhile project.
Bowling For Rhinos has broken the $3 million mark and we continue to reach for attaining our goal of $500,000/year! Together AAZK can do it. We have and we will continue to make a difference in the conservation world. Please send me your organization’s contact person/contact info ASAP along with the date of your event. Reminder, there is a $25 registration fee for BFR events which covers administrative costs so that 100% of all donation can go directly to rhino conservation. Please contact Patty Pearthree: patty.pearthree@aazk.org.
There is a new Yahoo groups email for Bowling For Rhino Coordinators. If you would like to be part of this email group, please email Barbie Wilson at rhinobarbie@hotmail.com. This will let you communicate with each other on questions about t-shirts, bowling alley prices, how to get more support from your zoo, etc. with other BFR coordinators.