Success! IBM Won’t Support NYBC Until They Take Care of 66 Abandoned Chimps
Donny Moss is an indefatigable Care2 activist who believes passionately in the cause of animal rights and refuses to give up.
In 2015, Moss learned that the New York Blood Center (NYBC) had abandoned 66 chimps after conducting invasive experiments on them and promising to provide them with lifelong care. They were left on islands in Liberia with no plans or funds to feed them.
This was in spite of the following statement issued by Alfred M. Prince, founder of NYBC, in 2005: “The New York Blood Center recognizes its responsibility to provide an endowment to fund the Sanctuary for the lifetime care of the chimpanzees.”
In March 2015, when NYBC officially left these chimps to die, Liberians who were former employees of the blood center stepped in to care for the animals on a volunteer basis and were able to keep them alive until a coalition of over 30 animal conservation groups led by the Humane Society of the U.S. were able to raise funds from the public. But how long can this last?
When he learned of the plight of these chimpanzees, Donny Moss jumped into action and created a Care2 petition, calling on MetLife, the NYBC’s largest corporate donor, to exert its influence over NYBC by demanding that the organization provide the promised funding to pay for the care of the chimps.
Success #1!
Over 127,000 Care2 activists signed Moss’s petition, and a few months later, he declared victory. Here’s how he updated his petition:
“Great news! MetLife has issued a public statement condemning the NY Blood Center (NYBC) and announcing a suspension of funding until NYBC resolves the chimp abandonment crisis that it created. This victory demonstrates the power of grass roots activism – from petitions to protests.”
Moss was thrilled at this enormous success, but he wasn’t ready to stop there. (Remember I mentioned that he is indefatigable?)
Next he addressed himself to Citigroup, another huge source of financial support for NYBC, and created a second Care2 petition, this one calling on the huge banking company to stop donating to NYBC until they reinstated funding for the abandoned chimps. Moss made the decision to keep targeting NYBC’s major donors, since NYBC itself wasn’t even answering phone calls about the chimps.
Success #2!
This time, more than 224,000 Care2 members signed Moss’s petition, and as a result, the multi-billion investment corporation agreed to meet with Moss and other supporters. On March 31, 2016, Citigroup issued a public statement saying that the chimps’ current situation was “not tolerable.”
Thanks to the dedication of Care2 members and other activists, Citigroup also made a $50,000 donation to the Humane Society of the U.S. to help care for the chimps.
Moss was thrilled with this success, but there was still more work to do.
Having secured the support of MetLife, Citigroup, Dr. Jane Goodall, and elected officials in NY, Moss decided to challenge tech giant IBM.
That’s because NYBC earns approximately $300 million each year selling blood donated by the public at collection sites in and around New York City, and the space for one of these collection sites was donated by IBM.
Moss created his third Care2 petition, asking IBM CEO Ginni Rometty to honor her company’s code of conduct by terminating its relationship with NYBC and reallocating its blood donation space to another blood collection organization.
You’ll get to see how passionate Donny Moss is about these chimps if you check out this awesome video of his visit to the chimps in Liberia:
Success #3!
Again, it took several months, but Moss’s determination and hard work has paid off. After garnering over 164,000 supporters on his third petition, Moss posted this message:
“VICTORY!!! Thanks to this petition and other grass roots advocacy, IBM has suspended all of its blood drives with the New York Blood Center until the organization takes responsibility for the 66 chimps who it abandoned on islands in Liberia with no food or water.”
Wow! Congratulations to Donny Moss and to all the Care2 activists who have contributed to these impressive wins.
You can read the full statement from IBM by clicking here.
Moss has achieved amazing success with his Care2 petitions. If you’re inspired by his example, why not start your own Care2 petition, focused on an issue that’s important to you. These guidelines will help you get started, and soon you’ll find the vibrant Care2 community signing up to support you.