Philanthropy

The Chantecaille Family Visits Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya

Back in January 2020, Sylvie Chantecaille & her family visited Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Ithumba Reintegration Unit in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya. In this protected preserve, more than 100 orphaned elephants over age 3 have transitioned to a life in the wild. Their head keeper, Benjamin Kyalo, shared with Sylvie how he and his team care for them, from daily milkings to mud baths. We’re so happy to support our partner's impactful conservation work with our Philanthropy Collections for eight years and counting.

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is known for its pioneering work rehabilitating elephant, rhino and other wild animal orphans. But wildlife habitat degradation is occurring rapidly with climate change and population growth and SWT felt obliged to do something about it. “We must take care of the big picture, which will affect [the animals’] futures—and all of ours,” CEO Angela Sheldrick says. Because they manage protected areas that have ample water sources, SWT is able to successfully carry out a project of this scale.

In honor of Earth Day 2021, we're proud to be donating $30,000 to plant another 60,000 trees in Kenya in partnership with Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. With this new donation, we're doubling the number of trees we funded previously with our 1 Lipstick = 1 Tree drive for Lip Cristal, to 120,000.

In Kenya, forests have shrunk due to development, illegal logging for charcoal and overgrazing of livestock. Sheldrick Wildlife Trust work with local communities to grow trees from seed and plant them near national parks and in forests that they manage, including acacias, tamarinds, baobab, and fig trees.

These plantings benefit wildlife and create employment for impoverished communities. And, of course, forests are essential to mitigating climate change by storing harmful greenhouse gases.

“We must take care of the big picture, the picture that will affect their futures and all of ours,” - CEO Angela Sheldrick.