Help Save Orangutans With Julie!

Please help save orangutans with Julie! This summer my friend and roommate Julie Hladik will be traveling to Indonesia in a volunteer position with Orangutan Foundation International. This foundation, established for the benefit of orangutans and their habitat, works with volunteers to construct sustainable habitats for orangutans in Indonesia. Why is this necessary? Let’s talk briefly about palm oil. From OFI’s website: “Palm oil is a major cause of climate change. Every day more virgin rainforest is burned and cleared to plant more palm oil plantations. Palm oil is the leading cause of deforestation in Borneo and Sumatra, where orangutans live. Loss of habitat is why orangutans are dying. Five thousand orangutans are killed each year because of palm oil expansion. Orangutans have lost 90% of their habitat in the last twenty years.” Further, “It (palm oil) is in fifty percent of all household and food products sold in the west. It’s in everything from shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, microwave dinners, cookies, peanut butter, lotion, makeup, and much more.” Julie will be laboring for over a month to combat the devastating effects of this deforestation, and to help ensure that orangutans of Borneo will have a safe place in their homeland. I’ve asked Julie if I could take the reins in drafting her GoFundMe request, because it is not always easy to ask for assistance in financing a project or commitment, however worthy it may be. It is very easy, however, for me to speak to the passion for and commitment to animal advocacy and conservation that have helped land Julie a coveted place in this volunteer program. I can attest to this being an honor and distinction, having witnessed her move through a lengthy and thorough application process amidst a competitive applicant pool. So, why donate? Here are some associated costs with this mission: airfare, medical care and vaccinations, insurance, etc. Additionally, there is a required $1,275 applicant donation fee. While julie has these costs about sewn up, she hopes to raise as much additional money for the foundation as possible. If you are a friend of Julie’s, you might consider your donation as defraying the costs of her getting over there, or returning home. If you simply share her deep and abiding love for these animals, consider your donation a gift to the organization taking the lead in their preservation. Please join me in donating, and Julie will ensure it goes far.