Kids for Cheetahs Stories – February 2017

Arianna is from Utah and she loves cheetahs. She has been researching about cheetahs since she was five and has read all the books in her local library pertaining to cheetah facts, care and conservation. She watches cheetah documentaries and is always looking for new cheetah news online. Arianna dreams of someday visiting CCF in Namibia to see the cheetahs in person.

Her assignment for school was to pick a hero and do a three-paragraph report along with a presentation at her school’s “Living Hero Museum” (see video below). She chose Laurie because “I admire her as well as the work she does to save cheetahs!” She is making a difference in the world” She memorized Laurie Marker’s life history and created a Laurie outfit to wear. Her station was very popular with many kids and adults drawn to the big plush cheetah, interested to know more about her work and CCF.

Clemence and Karissa from California held a cheetah fundraiser at their school. The girls were able to raise $136.21 by selling their handmade products (bracelets, barrettes, keychains, bookmarks and origami) in school. Their mom promised to match whatever amount they raised so they donated $272.42 to CCF during the Year-End Challenge (CCF’s yearly matching campaign), so their donation was doubled AGAIN.

You can see pictures of their booth below. Karissa is wearing a red shirt and Clemence is wearing blue and yellow.

Aruna is from California and has loved cheetahs ever since she first heard about them in kindergarten. When she found out the cheetah was an endangered species and was being hunted and sold in the illegal wildlife trade she immediately wanted to do her part to help save cheetahs. Over the years, she was inspired to action by conservationists like Dr. Laurie Marker, Jane Goodall and Rebecca Klein.

Aruna started her fundraising by holding bake sales and yard sales to raise money for cheetahs. She also gave talks about cheetahs at the local schools and library to raise awareness. Aruna has written a book about the life story of Rebecca Klein, the founder of Cheetah Conservation Botswana. She was able to raise over $5,000 through book sales. She is currently working with Dr. Laurie Marker to write a book about her inspiring life story.