The Pollyanna Pickering Foundation
The Pollyanna Pickering Foundation raises funds and campaigns for conservation and animal welfare in the UK and worldwide.
Who We Are
Established in 2001 by Wildlife Artist Pollyanna Pickering the Foundation is a non-profit organisation which campaigns internationally to prevent the exploitation of wildlife and raises funds to support animal welfare and conservation projects worldwide.
How it all Began
For Fifteen years Pollyanna Pickering ran a Wildlife sanctuary from her home in the Peak District of Derbyshire. Originally established as a licensed registered keeper to care for and rehabilitate injured and orphaned raptors,Pollyanna soon discovered that once she began caring for birds of prey people brought any wildlife in need of help to her door! As well as the many hundreds of owls, hawks and falcons which passed through her care, Pollyanna treated, reared and released numerous garden birds, and almost every species of British mammal including foxes, hares, squirrels and hedgehogs.
All the birds and animals Pollyanna cared for were rehabilitated into the wild, unless too badly disabled to survive independently in which case they were given a home with her for the rest of their natural lives. Pollyanna funded the hospital – including the treatment, medical supplies, feeding and rehabilitation work entirely through a percentage of sales of her artwork.
Eventually after fifteen years of hands on care of Wildlife, Pollyanna had to make the difficult decision to scale down the sanctuary. Her increasing success in the art world was taking her away from home for ever-longer periods of time, and she was unable to secure permanent expert help to care for her patients. However she was determined to find a way of carrying on her conservation and rescue work with wildlife, and the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation was established.
The Pollyanna Pickering Foundation was formally established in June 2001 to continue Pollyanna's commitment to working for the welfare of wildlife. The launch party was attended by guests from around the world, including visitors from Spain, Holland, France, Germany and Japan. The first fundraising event - a celebrity garden party - was held later that summer.
Although the majority of our work is with wildlife, the Foundation also makes occasional grants to other causes close to Pollyanna's heart - supporting an orphanage in Ethiopia among other projects.
What We Do :
British Wildlife
The Foundation continues in its original aim to help British wildlife in need, and builds pens and aviaries,
provides equipment and medical supplies for sanctuaries and wildlife hospitals throughout the UK.
The foundation has paid for the construction of aNew hospital unit at the Cedar Wildlife Sanctuary
provided construction materials for new aviaries at Secret world wildlife hospital, provided incubators and runs for hedgehog hospitals and built artificial badger setts and tunnels at a sanctuary in Northumberland to assist in the rehabilitation and re-release of injured and orphaned badger cubs, among many other projects.
International Rescue and Conservation
The Foundation’s scope soon widened to raise funds for the protection and rescue of wildlife worldwide as well as emergency disaster relief. Funds have been raised to help protect Rhinos in Africa, Wolves in Ethiopia, orphaned polar bears in the arctic, and build a tiger orphanage in Nepal. We have helped to fund construction of enclosures at Born Free’s big cat sanctuaries in South Africa and Ethiopia. Equipment has been purchased for project tiger rangers working in India, and many smaller grants have been made to wildlife and environmental projects. Through our exclusive adoption programmes, we support a wild cheetah relocation programme in South Africa, and the care of Giant Pandas in China.
The Foundation never forgets the individual animal – we have helped fund the rescue of lions from a Romanian Zoo and their subsequent transfer to the Born Free sanctuary in South Africa. ‘Polly Bear’ is an Asiatic Moonbear previously used in the unspeakably cruel bile bear trade in Vietnam. The Pollyanna
Pickering Foundation funded the rescue of Polly Bear, and continues to pay for his care at the
Animals Asia sanctuary. The Foundation also works to protect the natural habitat and the environment, supporting selected conservation projects from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan to the rainforests of Belize.
Education and Campaigning
The Foundation campaigns actively for animal welfare internationally. Petitions and letter writing campaigns have been organised to help improve the welfare of animals in China, India, Canada and the UK. We have provided materials for project tiger rangers in India for their programme of talks in local schools, and Pollyanna is pleased to be able to use her high profile in the world of Wildlife Art to speak about conservation issues during her popular talks and lectures and in the media.
Fundraising
Funds are raised through Pollyanna's exhibitions and talks, an annual prize draw, donations, and one off special events. Click here for information about how you can help.
Help raise money for the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation while you shop online! Click here for further information on this and other ways in which you can help.
Click here to make a secure online donation of £10.00 towards any Pollyanna Pickering Foundation appeal
If you prefer to make a donation by cheque please Click here for a printable form