An
extremely rare Dodo skeleton that usually resides at Durrell Wildlife Park will
take centre stage in de Gruchy’s shop window from Tuesday 27th March, to
highlight the launch of the store’s £10,000 2012 charity challenge.
The
skeleton, one of only a handful left in the world, will be carefully lifted
into place, to kick-start a year’s programme of fundraising, staff and customer
engagement by the store to the benefit of Durrell. The Dodo will remain on
display until 16th April. It is 350 years since the last recorded sighting of
the Dodo; so securing this rare, original skeleton (believed to be one of only
four left in the world) is extremely exciting.
“Each year,
de Gruchy sets a challenge to raise £10,000 funds to support a local charity
and for 2012, Durrell has been selected by our staff,” explains Store Manager
John Marquis. “However, we are planning a lot more than just fundraising to
benefit this exceptional organisation. We have already started a programme of
staff talks and engagement, communication about the work of Durrell to our
loyal customers and have put in place plans to help raise awareness through our
shop floor. From Friday 30th March, we will be launching a dedicated area of
the store to sell Durrell merchandise, entry tickets and adoption packs, in a
bid to raise awareness of the Trust to the thousands of customers that visit de
Gruchy each week.”
In the
coming months, de Gruchy will also be working with the Durrell team, passing on
commercial and retail expertise and advice in order for the Trust to maximise
its retail capabilities at the Trinity site.
“At Durrell
we won’t compromise on our conservation projects, which put us under continued
financial pressure. It is with the support of organisations like de Gruchy and
the broader community that we continue to undertake our fieldwork and maintain
our wildlife park and training centre in Trinity. Giving our charity prime
position on the high street, using the Dodo to represent the challenges we face
daily, is a huge boost to Durrell. We can’t thank de Gruchy enough for this
opportunity,” says Durrell’s Honorary Director, Dr Lee Durrell.
Image and text from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
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