Congratulations to last week's winner, Allison, who will receive 2 dozen whoopie pies from Whoopsies! Thanks for reading!
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Today we've got two incredible gifts for our lucky Friday Freebies winner! Both of these prizes are in support of a wonderful cause: helping to save the pandas at The National Zoo here in DC.
The giant panda has come today to symbolize the plight of the world’s vanishing wildlife. There are only about 1,600 giant pandas living in the wild in China. The National Zoo has been at the forefront of giant panda conservation focusing on the two goals of increasing the capacity of our Chinese partners to protect the habitat and maintaining a healthy captive population to support those in the wild.
The first part of this amazing giveaway is a sterling silver charm bracelet with a panda charm from our dear friends over at Altruette. We've written about Altruette here on the blog before, and their concept couldn’t be simpler: 50% of the net profit from the sale of the charms goes directly to their cause partners. Altruette’s partners include established national non-profits as well as smaller groups with talented leaders and ambitious plans to change the world. The panda charm that the winner of this giveaway will receive directly supports the Friends of the National Zoo!
Beyond financial support, wearing your Altruette bracelet serves another important purpose: it helps spread the word about great causes your friends and family may not know about! We think that these adorable [yet totally chic and elegant] pieces of jewelry make for great bridal party gifts.
The section portion of this panda prize is a Giant Panda Love Package, donated by our friends at the National Zoo. This package [valued at $85] will help support conservation efforts at both the National Zoo's D.C. campus and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. It includes an animal carrier box and:
· Two 12-inch animal plush
· Personalized certificate and letter of appreciation
· Photo of your adopted species
· Animal fact sheet
One lucky winner will receive BOTH of these wonderful [and charitable!] gifts. To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below letting us know what your favorite zoo exhibit was as a kid [or is now!], and we'll select a winner at random. Both items can be shipped anywhere in the continental US, so this giveaway is open to readers both near and far.
[To further support this cause, please visit the Adopt a Species site, or consider purchasing a charitable charm from Altruette. Every little bit helps!]
I liked the elephants. I remember liking when they gave them a bath. I thought that was the best part ever!!!
P.S. I was also very addicted to the "panda cam"!!!
Posted by: Monica Hepburn | August 05, 2011 at 05:14 AM
As a very young child, my mom taught me about the potential extinction of African elephants for their ivory tusks, so I was always excited to see elephants in the zoo (I hated circuses because my mom also taught me about their abuse of animals) knowing that they were being well taken care of. Elephants are still my favorite animal, but the baby cheetahs at the National Zoo are adorable...and I'm sure if Mei Xiang gives birth next year, a baby panda would be adorable too.
Posted by: Evelyn | August 05, 2011 at 07:14 AM
Honestly, my favorite exhibit was the panda house at the Zoo back when we had Hsing Hsing and Ling Ling. I would race through everything else just to get to them.
These days, I still love the panda habitat. I also love seeing the sloths during evening events, when they're actually awake and moving around a bit! :)
Posted by: Jeannine | August 05, 2011 at 08:06 AM
I LOVE the National Zoo! The red panda exhibit has to be my favorite - a couple of summers ago, I saw one of the red pandas catch a wild bird right out of the air! I'm so glad you're supporting the Zoo and the giant pandas!
Posted by: Lindsay | August 05, 2011 at 08:15 AM
Elephants! A few years ago, I had the chance to go to Nepal and we went on an elephant ride. Probably wasn't the safest "ride" but it was a lot of fun!
Posted by: grace | August 05, 2011 at 02:04 PM
My favorite zoo exhibit is Madagascar! at the Bronx Zoo. I love it for so many reasons. It does a wonderful job of taking you through several habitats of Madagascar and exhibits a wide variety of species. I work at the zoo and it's also close to my office so that's an added bonus!
Posted by: Amanda | August 05, 2011 at 06:29 PM
The things your future wife has you do..... I liked the Monkeys!!!
Posted by: christopher | August 05, 2011 at 07:45 PM
I like the sea lions, though it has been a couple years since I've been to the zoo!
Posted by: Sarah | August 09, 2011 at 05:46 AM