HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU GOES OUT TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED THE CHIMPS AND SUPPORTED THE GREAT APE PROTECTION ACT THIS YEAR!!!

Hey Everyone!

I just wanted to let you know about stuff I have been doing. It has been a year since I started fundraising for the chimps and speaking out for them.

I was hoping that The Great Ape Protection Act would have been passed. I have been learning about bills and how laws get passed and I think that it takes too long. I hate that chimpanzees have been suffering so long. If you haven’t Taken Action yet for the Great Ape Protection Act PLEASE DO!!!!!!

  





The Humane Society of the United States has a campaign "Chimps Deserve Better" and you can go there and learn about what is happening to the chimps and how you can help.  This is really important and please send the link below to your friends.
https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4665

ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS!!!

I know lots of you that follow me on facebook and twitter know that I got to go to Connecticut to the Roots & Shoots summit and hear Dr. Jane Goodall speak. That was the best! I already knew a lot about Dr. Jane and David Grey Beard. But it was really nice to see her and hear the stories again. Better than YouTube. If you get the chance to hear her speak you should really go. She is so nice and does lots of things for the chimps and all animals.



This image is copywritten ©JGI 2010
Meeting Dr. Jane Goodall
Gombe and Beyond: The next fifty years at
Western CT State University on
October 8, 2010.




I am still fundraising for Save the Chimps and I am hoping that all the chimps will be moved soon to one of the islands. These chimps deserve to be able to run and play on one of the islands. I think it is really cool that they can lay in the grass or sleep under the stars if they want to. If you would like to make a donation please click on the link http://www.firstgiving.com/migrateboy to go to my firstgiving page.

Thanks & Happy New Year!
your chimp friend,
Brandon

LET'S MAKE 2011 THE BEST YEAR FOR THE CHIMPS

&

ALL GREAT APES!!!

JASON SHANAMAN - ARTIST & SCULPTOR HOSTING FUNDRAISER FOR MAKE A CHIMP SMILE!

Jason Shanaman who is a sculptor is hosting a fundraiser for Make a Chimp Smile! You can read his bio below and he also has a website sculpture by jason shanaman .

The sculptures for the fundraiser are called "Primal Thinker" and they only cost $40. Jason who loves great apes and has supported other sanctuaries with his art is generous to donate 50% of his proceeds to Make a Chimp Smile. I'm really excited about this and hope that everyone will support this fundraiser. My mom bought me one and I can't wait till it comes in the mail. This would make a really nice present for someone and be supporting chimpanzees too!

Primal Thinker

 

 

6 1/4 inches tall

Hydrostone bronze coat edition limited to 75 castings $40

Eco cold cast bronze limited to 35 casts $80

"Jason Shanaman started sculpting in 2002 and mainly focused on frogs and lizards. Around 2005 he started to focus on orangutans and then went on to helping with fundraisers for Dr. Gary Shapiro of Orangutan Republik by donating sculptures and creating new work like magnets to help out and raise awareness. He has since went on to create sculptures of mountain gorillas and chimpanzees as well and has a strong desire to see the end of confinement for chimpanzees used in medical research and is also very supportive of the Great Ape Protection Act. He is currently creating new work of various endangered animals to be cast in environmentally friendly casting materials. His primary focus however will always be the great apes."

THANK YOU JASON FOR MAKING CHIMPS SMILE!

To place your order for Primal Thinker

Just click on the link to Jason's etsy store http://www.etsy.com/listing/61321262/chimpanzee-sculpture-primal-thinker to place your order.

or you can contact Jason Shanaman by email jssculpture@hotmail.com

or through his website sculpture by jason shanaman

Remember these are limited edition so order today for the holidays.

THANK YOU!!!!

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A NICE THANKSGIVING!

Your Chimp Friend

Brandon

TEDxYouth@TampaBay! November 20, 2010

TEDx Youth @ Tampa Bay was so much fun. Everyone had something great to say. You can see my interview here.

Here is a slide show that I also made for

TEDxYouth@TampaBay

TEDx slideshow Make a Chimp Smile!

View more presentations from Make A Chimp Smile.

If anyone wants to be part of tedx next year please visit

http://tedxyouthtampabay.com/

CHECK OUT MY NEW VIDEO!

Hey Everybody,
I am going to be a presenter at the TEDxYouth@TampaBay on November 20th. I made and submitted this video to be played at the event. I hope you guys like it and send it to your friends so they can learn about the Great Ape Protection Act too!




TAKE ACTION LINK https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4665

"I BELIEVE...

We should all speak out for those who can't speak for themselves."

The images and audio of this video are copywritten and do not belong to me.
I was granted permission to use them for this video.

Information & Images
The Humane Society of the United States    
http://www.hsus.org/

Chimps Deserve Better Campaign    
http://www.chimpsdeservebetter.org/

Musician & Songwriter     Harry Hmura    
http://www.harryhmura.com/

Musicians for Apes    
http://www.musiciansforapes.com/

Song Title - Haven's Home

Special message to chimps still in medical labs.
I BELIEVE!

I wanted to say thank you to Jennifer & Harry for helping me out with the pictures and music to do this video. Also thank you to everyone who watched and supported the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326, S. 3694).  Please share this with your friends on facebook, twitter and email.

Please join my Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=117790614931971

Thank you!
Brandon

I REACHED MY FIRST GOAL!!!

Hi Everybody!

For those that haven't seen yet. We did it!!! Thanks to everyone who supported Make a Chimp Smile we raised $2500 to migrate a chimp. Save the Chimps Sanctuary will be announcing it soon. I will post it too!
I am really happy and everyone was so nice that donated. I couldn't have done it without everyone helping me spread the word.

I started this blog last December to migrate a chimp name Boy to Save the Chimps. He was lucky enough to be migrated before I raised enough money. Now he is able to spend the rest of his life being free on his island. If he wants to he can sleep under the stars. Or he can climb to the top of a platform and lay in the sun. He is getting good food to eat, breathing fresh air and spending time with his family. I can't wait for the new chimp to get there!

Boy at Save the Chimps Sanctuary

Fort Pierce, Florida

I have raised my goal up another $2500 to migrate another chimp. I have lots of ideas on new fundraisers so I will let you know when I post them. I will also put them up on the Make a Chimp Smile facebook group and twitter page.

There are still 60 more chimps that need to be migrated from New Mexico to Florida. I am so happy that Save the Chimps was able to rescue them from The Coulston Foundation. I am hoping more people will learn about what these chimps went through and want to help migrate them to one of the islands at Save the Chimps Sanctuary.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Come back Soon!

your chimp friend,

Brandon



Make A Chimp Smile in Africa Day 5

AFRICA WEEKS FOR THE ANIMALS

August 2 - 15, 2010

I am having fun working with

Art of Conservation, Inc. in Rwanda

I wanted to show you some pictures of the kids wearing chimpanzee and gorilla masks. Julie from Art of Conservation was nice to send me some. The masks are really cool! The students wear them and put on song and dance performances.

Putting on a show with the gorilla masks

another show wearing chimp masks

I really like these masks and everyone looks like they are having fun!  They have other cool masks on their website on the merchandise page. They have orangutans, elephants, lions and more. If you really like one you can buy one! Click on the link!

Julie has posted more art work done by the students on her blog Art for Gorillas. The kids did gorillas with different expressions like happy, sad, angry and sleepy. They are really good. They also did art with tissue paper. I like all the colors. I might do that on my next mask.

I finished my chimp mask and I am working on a new one. It takes a long time to make one because the paper mache takes a long time to dry. It took almost 2 weeks for me to finish this one.

me wearing my chimp mask

guess what kind of great ape mask this will be?

FUNDRAISER

SUPPORTING THE KIDS OF RWANDA

&

THE MOUNTAIN GORILLAS!

 

First I want to thank everyone who has already donated and supported our fundraiser. I am really excited to send the kids in Rwanda friendship bracelets and write them letters. Please ask your friends to support this cause and send them to http://www.etsy.com/shop/metamorphis2010 so they can get a friendship bracelet too!

MAKE A CHIMP SMILE IN AFRICA

  MAKE A CHIMP SMILE IN AFRICA

August 2-15, 2010

I have been really excited about doing the weeks in Africa with Animal World USA-International.         " Animal World USA-International is pleased to announce that the 1st Africa Weeks for the Animals is scheduled for August 2-15, 2010. This time will highlight the importance that African animals play in our world and bring communities together on behalf of the animals and help African organizations to help the animals. " http://animalworldusa.blogspot.com/2010/07/1st-africa-weeks-for-animals-august-2.html

Through Animal World USA I learned about about the organization Art of Conservation, Inc. they are located in Rwanda and they are having an official Africa Week for the Animals event.

They teach kids about having a good environment for people and animals. They have a cool website and blog you should check it out. I really like that the kids get to learn about the gorillas and do things to protect and care for them. 

When you click on the link http://www.art-of-conservation.com/  you can see a great video of the kids singing "Saving Gorilla Habitat, One Song at a Time."  The kids singing are also dancing with masks. I really liked the masks so I thought I would like to make one for them.

My brother Christian helping me

Here is my finished mask.

Julie Ghrist is the founder of Art of Conservation and she is going to be celebrating Gorilla Art Weeks. She is going to be sharing pictures that the kids have done on her blog. Each day a blog post will have different pictures made by kids in her classes of the endangered mountain gorilla. Monday August 2nd will be the first day.

WE CAN SUPPORT THE KIDS OF RWANDA &

THE MOUNTAIN GORILLAS TOO!

I really wanted to do something for Animal World & Art of Conservation. So I started selling friendship bracelets. I have already sold a few.

The friendship bracelets are only $5 and shipping is free. But when you buy one I am going to send you one and also send one to a student in Rwanda. The bracelet will be a gift from you. I thought it would be cool to send them friendship bracelets to show them that we support everything they are doing.



I hope everyone will be a part of this fundraiser because it is for a really good cause. The bracelets will be listed on Etsy on Tuesday the 3rd. The web address is  http://www.etsy.com/shop/metamorphis2010.


To learn more about Africa Weeks for the Animals please call 877-454-0807 or visit the website at http://africaanimals.org/ .

WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS SUMMER!

North Dakota

Hey Everybody!

I’m sorry I haven’t written lately but I have been real busy. I had lots of end of the school year projects and then my Dad got to come home from Afghanistan to visit us. We had so much fun! We went to my grandparents in North Dakota and did lots of fun stuff!  We also drove to Canada and spent a week and on our drive back to North Dakota we walked through the Peace Gardens. That was really cool!

Christian, Dad, Me & Denver at the Peace Gardens

Making s'mores with Grandma & Christian

Me & Granddaddy

I wanted to thank everyone for all the Birthday Wishes & Birthday Donations that were made to Save the Chimps. I didn’t know that turning 10 was going to be so much fun!!!  I  really loved the Birthday Party the chimps had for me at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute .
That was the coolest!!! Click on the Birthday Party and go see the pictures. Thank you CHCI!!!

Cool Cake!!!

We blew out the candles! It was Granddaddy's birthday too!

I also want to give special thanks to my Mom & Dad, Grandma & Granddaddy, Theresa, Tamela, Jennifer and Triana for thinking of me on my birthday and for loving the chimps.

MY TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY!

I had so much fun in New York! I went to a special lunch at the Four Seasons for Save the Chimps and got to speak to everyone about how I got started with the chimps. Everyone I met was really nice there and they do a lot to help the chimps. After the lunch they brought out a really big plate of cotton candy and that was the best!

In this picture is Triana Romero, Irene Crowe, me and the biggest plate of cotton candy!!!

I also got to meet Jon Stryker from the Arcus Foundation. He is really nice and he has done a lot to help chimpanzees. You can go to his website http://www.arcusfoundation.org/ and read about how they support chimpanzees and human rights.

Me and Jon Stryker

When I was in New York I also went to the top of the Empire State Building. You can see everything from up there. So I took lots of pictures. Also I went to this fun place called Mars 2112. It is a restaurant where you take a spaceship to Mars and when you get inside they have aliens walking around and a game room.  This was so much fun!

Alien and me at Mars 2112

New York City is a really cool place to visit and I hope I get to go back again real soon!

THINGS I HAVE BEEN DOING! WHAT YOU CAN DO TOO!

Chimpanzees in labs have never climbed a tree or touched grass.

We need to Change this!

I have been working real hard speaking out for the chimps. I have given out lots of my bookmarks and asked lots of people to contact their congressman and support the Great Ape Protection Act H.R. 1326. You can do this too! It is easy. All you have to do is go to http://www.house.gov/ and put in your zip code to find your representative. Please write them and also visit my online petition at the top of my blog.

Also there are lots of sanctuaries that could use our help.  Of course they need money but they also need fleece blankets for nesting, nuts, peanut butter and other things.  You can collect donations from friends and family and mail a care package. I did this and it was so much fun!

Go to http://www.savethechimps.org/wish-list.aspx

Here you will get a list of things the chimps like and need.

There are also other sanctuaries that need things for the chimps they are the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW) and the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute. I sent packages to them too!

I am getting ready for Central Florida Earth Day 2010! I am going to have an awareness table where people can see my backboards and learn about chimps in labs and in entertainment. I will also be speaking on a panel so people will know how I got started speaking out for the chimps. I am excited and hope that I will get a lot more people to sign my Great Ape Protection Act letters and also that they can learn about the chimps.

I AM HOPING MORE PEOPLE WILL SPEAK OUT FOR THE GREAT APES!

FRUIT CHIMP GAME

Fruit Chimp

Online Games

Calling all kids who want to blog for the chimps!

Chimpanzee Abuse

This video is sad. The trainer is mean and hurts him. I wonder what he did to Tarzan when he was at home. You can see that Tarzan is scared. It says that Tarzan died soon after this.

Chimpanzee Memory Test

This is a really good video. You can see how smart chimps are. I tried to remember the numbers and it was really hard. See if you can. I found lots of videos that show how smart chimpanzees really are and they have a really good memory. This chimp is only seven years old.

GREAT NEWS!!!! BOY IS HOME!!!!

Ten more Chimps were just migrated to Save the Chimps Sanctuary in Fort Pierce Florida. Boy was one of the first ones on the bus. I am so happy that he is finally home where he can roam free on his island with his family!

Boy is around 40 years old. He has had a hard life. He was captured in Africa when he was just a baby and spent almost his whole life in research labs, where he lived in a small cage. These research labs did terrible things to Boy, where he had to have lots of surgery and lots of tests.

In 2002 Save the Chimps rescued almost 300 chimpanzees from the Coulston Foundation and Boy was one of them. I have never met Boy and I don’t know if I ever will. But that’s ok because I am so happy just to know he is free to be on his island. If I get any pictures of Boy on the island I will post them so you can see!

I WROTE TO MY CONGRESSMAN!

HERE IS THE LETTER I GOT BACK FROM

 CONGRESSMAN BILL POSEY

January 11, 2010

Dear Brandon,

Thank you for contacting my office to express your support for the Great Ape Protection Act. It is good to hear from you.

As you may know, this bill was introduced on March 5, 2009 by Rep. Edolphus Towns (NY-10). This legislation bans invasive research on great apes, as well as prohibits federal funding towards such research. The Great Ape Protection Act also includes provisions prohibiting the transport of apes for the purpose of invasive research and breeding.

Since its introduction, H.R. 1326 has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. While I do not sit on this Committee, please be assured I will keep your concerns in mind should this bill be considered on the House floor.

Thank you again, Brandon, for contacting me. It is an honor to serve you in Congress. If I may be of service to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Bill Posey
Member of Congress

UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION AT RESEARCH LAB

THIS IS ANOTHER SAD VIDEO!

EVERONE SHOULD SEE THIS AND HELP THE PRIMATES!

I am trying to find out what discoveries have been made from torturing these primates.  I have done alot of google searches but haven't found anything.  If anyone know what cures or medicines were discovered using Chimps and other primates will you please post them. I think they have suffered enough.  Please help stop them from hurting them.

The Cruelty Of Using Great Apes In Entertainment

Just stuff I have learned!

Hi Everyone!            

You won’t believe what I have discovered about Chimps! Not everything thing I have learn is nice. Most of it is very sad. People are still selling chimpanzees on the internet as pets and to become entertainers. If that isn’t bad enough there are still labs doing testing on Chimps. They keep these Chimps in small cages and do testing on them and abuse them.


I thought after what happened with” Travis the Chimp” that laws would have been made. It was terrible what happen to Charla Nash but it was not Travis’s fault. Chimpanzees are meant to be in the wild. They are very intelligent animals. They are very social and live in family groups and we cannot force them to live like humans.

Did you know that when a baby chimp is taken away from the mother she mourns her whole life? This is happenening in Africa and and in labs.

Did you know when you go to the circus and see a chimp smiling he is not happy but scared? Chimps don’t smile. Their trainer’s beat, shock and abuse them. So when you are watching and laughing at the show. The Chimp is scared that if he doesn’t do what he is told he will be beaten again. When these chimps become 8 or 9 years old they get too big to control. So they end up in labs, people’s backyards, or small zoos. This is a sad and lonely life.

Save the Chimps is the worlds largest Sanctuary for Chimps. They have rescued the Chimps from the Coulston Foundation in New Mexico. This was a terrible lab that mistreated chimps for decades. They infected chimpanzees with human diseases and bred them for medical experiments.

Save the Chimps isn't open to the public but when you think about it that is good.  I know when I went to a small zoo last year and kids were throwing food and poking at the monkeys and chimps.  It was sad and the parents do it too.  This zoo was dirty and the Chimps were in small cages. How would you like to be in a cage with people laughing at you and throwing cookies and popcorn at you?  That is scary.  I know there are some zoos that do the best they can with what they have but there are small zoos that don't have the room for monkeys or apes.  Even though I love animals the gorillas and chimps.  I don't think I ever want to go back and see that.  Save the Chimps is clean and the chimps get good food to eat.  Best of all they can run free on their islands.