Celebrating the Life of a Remarkable Hero – Dr. Carole Noon
Printable Version
Please join Save the Chimps’ staff, family and supporters as they celebrate the life of Dr. Carole Noon, founder and sanctuary director.
Fort Pierce, Florida – July 10, 2009 – Save the Chimps, the world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary is holding a public memorial to celebrate the life of visionary, hero and sanctuary founder Dr. Carole Noon. On May 2, 2009 Dr. Noon passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The memorial will be held on Saturday, July 18, 2009 at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce, Florida. Doors will open at 5:00 and the ceremony will begin at 5:30 PM.
Dr. Noon’s passion, devotion and incredible achievements on behalf of chimpanzees will be the focus of this service which will encompass her journey from childhood to her final days overlooking the “chimp city” that will remain her lasting legacy.
One of the evenings highlights will be the posthumous presentation of the first-ever Carole Noon Award for Sanctuary Excellence presented by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, which has been created to honor visionary contributions to the animal sanctuary field. This honor memorializes Carole Noon, Ph.D., a courageous and innovative sanctuary pioneer and champion of chimpanzees.
Dr. Noon exemplified these traits with her innovative spirit; creating solutions to overwhelming challenges, a deep knowledge of those entrusted to the care of the sanctuary, a dedication to animals and a determination to succeed that manifested in a commitment to ensure humane and responsible care for the lifetime of each of the sanctuary residents.
Much of her field work was done at Chimfunshi, a chimpanzee sanctuary in Zambia. After leaving Zambia, Dr. Noon began to lay the groundwork for developing a chimpanzee sanctuary in the United States which would eventually developed into the world’s largest sanctuary for chimpanzees.
Dr. Noon was inspired to help chimpanzees after meeting Dr. Jane Goodall in the early 1980’s. After obtaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Dr. Noon received her Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Florida, specializing in the socialization of captive chimpanzees.
Save the Chimps invites the public to join them as they celebrate Dr. Noon’s life and her legacy. Using her words and those of Save the Chimps’ staff, tribute will be made to honor this remarkable woman who poured her heart and soul into saving chimpanzees.
About Save the Chimps
Save the Chimps was established in 1997 in response to the U.S. Air Force’s announcement that it was ending its chimpanzee research activities. Save the Chimps eventually gained permanent custody of 21 chimps – survivors and descendants of those captured in Africa in the 1950s and used in the original NASA “chimpanaut” program. Since then, the organization has also rescued many chimpanzees being used for biomedical research, entertainment and the pet trade, and has become the world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary.
The vision of Save the Chimps is to create a sanctuary where rescued chimpanzees can live out their lives without the threat of ever returning to a laboratory. The sanctuary environment was carefully designed to nurture and stimulate these sensitive and complex primates by creating a secure and enriching environment, including the construction of 12 individual three-five acre islands on which to safely express natural behaviors.
For more information on Save the Chimps, visit www.savethechimps.org. Save the Chimps, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization and all contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.