At Save the Chimps sanctuary in Fort Pierce, FL, chimpanzees spend their days relaxing and having fun in the sun. The organization goes to great lengths to ensure their residents are comfortable and entertained—even using their talent to paint canvases that help raise money for the sanctuary!

Through various art expos, the chimpanzee’s artwork is highlighted and sold, in collaboration with celebrity guest painters, to continue the best care for the animals domiciled at the sanctuary. This year’s event was no different, taking place at Art Expo NY, Save the Chimps collaborated with Joaquin Phoenix, his wife Rooney Mara, and FedEx, to ensure another successful showing with their latest and greatest artwork on display. It paid off, raising $20,000 with all proceeds going to support Save the Chimps.

To ensure the artwork could be completed prior to the event, the canvases needed to log some serious miles travelling from California to Florida then on to New York for the event. As with a previous art shipment of 30 canvases, FedEx donated the shipping of the 16 framed canvases going to New York. These shipments are part of the company’s FedEx Cares “Delivering for Good" initiative, in which FedEx lends its global network and unparalleled logistics expertise to organizations with precious cargo requests and helps communities before, during, and after crises. Learn more about FedEx Cares Delivering for Good initiative here.

Save the Chimps is the largest privately funded chimpanzee sanctuary in the world. Situated on 150 acres in Fort Pierce, FL, the refuge provides exemplary vet care, nutritious food, and social enrichment to over 220 chimps retired from laboratories, the entertainment industry, the pet trade, and roadside zoos. FedEx has collaborated with the organization for multiple shipments, including transporting the Sunrise Seven from Wildlife Waystation, a California animal refuge, that closed in 2019 to the sanctuary in Florida.

“We hope these paintings will raise much-needed funds for Save the Chimps’ sanctuary and deepen people’s appreciation of these intelligent apes,” said Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix. “Chimps are our closest relatives in the animal world. They share 98% of our DNA, so it’s no surprise that some chimps find it therapeutic to paint, much like some humans do.”

Source: Save The Chimps

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