FAQ
Tour
Education
Help Us
- Volunteer Days
- Donate Goods/Funds
- Adopt-a-Cougar
- Corporate Citizens
- Grants
Merchandise
Press
Gallery
Newsletters
Links
Volunteer Days
We host three to four Volunteer Days per year. Volunteers are invited in for a full day (or sometimes a whole weekend) of sanctuary work and sanctuary fun. We typically reserve projects that take many hands to complete for these days. Smaller projects that one to four people can work on are also open to anyone generous with his or her time and labor. Typical projects include cleaning out the mountain lion enclosures, repairing or building dens and storm shelters, upkeep on the grounds such as clearing away debris and trimming the grass, digging fencepost holes, installing fencing, clearing brush and dead trees, and maintenance and construction tasks on the enclosures.
If you have a specialty or just like to get out on beautiful days to contribute to a worthy cause, Volunteer Days are a good way to introduce yourself to the sanctuary community.
Volunteer Days are good days for first time visitors to come to investigate sanctuary life as well. Visitors and volunteers are not "required" to work. These are fun days for us, and visitors are welcome.
It's not all work all the time. Volunteers and visitors typically find time to explore the surrounding woods and waterfalls, climb rocks, get to know their fellow volunteers, and catch up on all the news. We all enjoy a nice lunch break to sit down and visit with old friends and new.
Of course, you also have the chance to see the mountain lions.
Donate Goods/Funds
We are an all-volunteer organization. There is no paid staff at the sanctuary. All donated funds go directly to the support of the mountain lions and the infrastructure of the sanctuary. We are a non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible in accordance with federal tax codes and where applicable to individuals.
You can mail financial donations directly to the sanctuary. Please make checks payable to "Cooper's Rock Mountain Lion Sanctuary" and mail to :
Cooper's Rock Mountain Lion Sanctuary Route 1 Box 332-K Bruceton Mills, W.Va. 26525
If you have a special skill, such as operating heavy equipment or installing electrical systems, feel free to donate services or labor. If you're in the area and can be on call to help with projects on a day or two notice, leave your phone number and help with short tasks periodically.
Goods that we need include office supplies, paper suitable for printers, printer cartridges (for the HP Inkjet 5550), chain link fencing, tools, and stamps. At the moment we also could really use a laser printer and a four-wheel-drive vehicle of some sort. We publish the quarterly newsletter from our homes. It costs approximately $100 to print and publish, plus the cost of stamps every quarter. We currently mail the newsletter out to approximately 125 people on our mailing list, plus extra copies on hand for visitors and to distribute locally, bringing the total printing to nearly 200 copies per quarter. If you'd like to sponsor a newsletter, please contact Mark at mark@cougarsanctuary.org.
If you'd like to donate meat, please call in advance to determine the need. There are conditions on meat donations. The meat must be raw; preferably has bones (occasionally we accept meat without bones but this is not usual); no spices, no pre-treatments, and no built-in pop-up thermometers; and the meat must not be from medicated animals. We prefer to know the source and how old the meat is.
A perpetual need is to expand our capabilities of holding frozen meat. We currently have floor model freezers but would prefer to upgrade to commercial freezers. If anyone can help with obtaining this sort of equipment or building a walk-in freezer with a staging area, we'd really appreciate that. We would like to be able to stockpile frozen meat during hunting season when people are especially generous, but are currently unable to do it.
Adopt-a-Cougar
It costs approximately $50 per month to feed each mountain lion. For a $50 donation, you can specify which mountain lion you wish to adopt or let us choose one for you.
Of course, none of the mountain lions will leave the grounds, and you will have neither the responsibility nor burden of caring for the cougar, but it is a direct way of helping a deserving cat. You will receive a photo of your adopted mountain lion with a letter describing the mountain lion or relating a recent story of his or her days at the sanctuary. If you're giving this special donation as a gift, your recipient will receive the pack instead. We'll generate a letter to acknowledge a special occasion and announce your identity, or keep it anonymous if you prefer.
Write to the sanctuary at the address above to adopt a cougar, or use this link:
Be sure to enter a gift of $50 or more, and specify that it is for the Adopt-A-Cougar program. You may choose one of the cats yourself, or we will select one if you do not.
Corporate Citizens
With help from the Ahimsa Foundation, CRMLS founder Mark Jenkins was able to extend the mission of the sanctuary further into the community. March Westin, a local civic-minded construction company, donated goods, labor, and heavy equipment to build a bridge and clear a roadway from the completed section of the sanctuary across the stream to the new development. Laurel Aggregates, a local materials supplier, donated part of the gravel used in the project. The result is a bridge that will support the weight of construction equipment across the stream.
There are many other opportunities for local businesses seeking to contribute to the community. Contact Mark, or write to the sanctuary at the address above, for information.
Grants
We have been very fortunate to receive grants from the Summerlee Foundation and Ahimsa Foundation.
The Summerlee Grant in 2000 was for $5,000 to build a new enclosure. That enclosure was finished at the same time that Carrie was looking for a home. Her importation permit came within two days of the completion of this enclosure, and it made a great home for her. Carrie has lived in this nice fifty-foot-square enclosure since it was built.
In 2001, Ahimsa awarded us a $20,000 grant for building enclosures and further fundraising. Ahimsa's grant paid for a new enclosure, escape-prevention metal netting for the roof of an enclosure, and will fund about three-quarters of another new enclosure.