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Far too often people say they wish they could give more or the amount that is needed is so much that how could they possibly help. It seems no matter how many times we say every dollar brings elephants closer to sanctuary, people don’t seem to truly believe it.

This photo is of coins that were handed to one of our supporters for Ramba. I honestly don’t know how much money it even is, and that’s not what matters. The love behind the gift outweighs everything else.

One of our supporters was in the hospital and not so shockingly, spent a lot of time talking about the elephants to almost everyone that came and went through her room. It wasn’t that far after Guida’s passing, so she talked about that loss. Then we shared Ramba’s CITES permit approval with her (she was told just before the announcement) so she started to talk about Ramba as well.

She talked about how long Ramba had waited, the fear that things might never happen, the expense of it all and the need to do whatever it took to get her to Elephant Sanctuary Brazil. It seems her joy, love, and pure dedication is contagious.

In the other bed of her room was a sweet little grandma whose husband was in another part of the hospital. One day she got up, and walked over to our supporter glowing and proud, handed her these coins and said ‘It’s only a little, but I hope it will help Ramba get to Brazil,’ and gave her a hug. She didn’t have much, but she wanted to help, and she wanted Ramba to have a better life. What she doesn’t realize was the entirety of the impact of her actions. It’s one of those priceless gifts.

Yes, it takes a lot of money to fly Ramba here, but every single person can be part of it. Working with animals all of my life, I have literally scrounged around the floor of my car, looking for change, so I could buy enough gas to finish out the workweek. We understand wanting to do more- we wish we were loaded so we didn’t need to ask others for their support to make these rescues happen. But when you have a big heart and genuinely care about the well-being of another, you almost always wish you could do more. The donation I remember most when we worked at the sanctuary in TN was someone who taped quarters to an envelope and mailed them in. The heart and sacrifice that goes into such a gift make it more valuable than you can imagine.

So, please, please, please, don’t ever feel like you can’t be part of helping bring Ramba or any other elephant to sanctuary. Every dollar does make a difference, and you would be amazed at how quickly it all adds up. And if you truly can’t afford a few dollars (been there), that doesn’t mean you can’t help by spreading the word. FB significantly limits how much your posts are shared. Every single   (they have more pull than just likes for some reason), every comment, and every share means that more people will see that she needs help. The more people that know, the more funds can be raised, the more shares, and so on.

The world is full of people that have a lot to say, but often do nothing to help another. NEVER feel bad about helping an elephant, a person, or anything else, no matter how ‘little’ you think it was. Little bits of help can be life-changing too. Thank you to everyone in our ‘small but mighty’ family who is trying to get Ramba home to the sanctuary.   We are grateful to each and every one of you.

August 16, 2019

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