Joan Furmage
Headshave to save the zoo
Fundraising for Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
Story
Why do I want to have my head shaved for the zoo you ask?
Well the zoo has been part of my life since before I can remember! When I was a youngster, we used to come regularly on a Sunday morning. At that time we were called fellows, not members, and it was fellows only on a Sunday morning. Back in those days, we could feed the animals, so we arrived laden with different foods for different animals. Cabbage leaves for the bison, bread and buns for Sally, the elephant, carrot batons for the monkeys, and a box of dates for the baboon, to name a few!
When I was a mum, I not only brought my own two children but helped run a zoo club, where we brought about fifty children to the Zoo every month! There followed a gap when I was not living in Edinburgh, but as soon as I came back, I joined the Zoo and became a volunteer. I was joining my mother and following my father. Mum was a volunteer until she was 90, and I hope I can do the same. I also worked at Summer School for 19 years, retiring from this a few years back. I am also a proud patron. The zoo is a huge part of my life and means so very much to me and many others.
The main reason I've set myself this challenge is that I want to support the Zoo with some much-needed money! This year has been incredibly difficult and I want to do what I can. I can't run a marathon, but a sponsored head shave is something that I can do!
I have a great love of animals, especially the Red Panda! But it is not just the animals, it is also the fantastic people who work here, not just the incredible Keepers, it's all across the Zoo, Education, Gift shop, Offices, Cleaners, Catering, Gardeners, Vet team, to name just a few. Who wouldn't be inspired by their work for the conservation of animals and the planet!
Please donate what you can to support the much-loved RZSS
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