I have always been passionate about great apes. Growing up, I was fascinated with chimpanzees, now as an adult, I want to get involved and give back in any way I can.
In 2020, I adopted an orangutan from The Orangutan Project. It felt good supporting and giving back to these wonderful, yet critically endangered animals. However, I did not want my efforts to stop there. I grew an urge to travel to Indonesia and help with conversation projects there. Although I have not accomplished that goal yet, I am thankful I found The Orang Utan Republik Foundation and am able to lend my skills and passion to a cause that I deeply care about. When I think about the organization and what they do, a genuine smile comes to my face. When I worked as a pre-k teacher, I dedicated a week to great apes, because I wanted my students to learn all about these great animals and hopefully want to make a difference in their own way.
My goal is to help the best way I can. I am looking forward to what's to come and volunteering with OURF!
Thank you for the opportunity and Happy Earth Day!
Nastassia Rodriguez
OURF Content Creation Volunteer