Thank You from "Kids Saving the Rainforest"! Let's Hope your Great Support doesn't Stop Here!

Hotel Byblos Resort in conjunction with Kids Saving the Rainforest held a community fundraiser to collect funds and supplies to enable the continued care and operation of the only locally government sanctioned wild animal rescue center located near Costa Rica's world famous Manuel Antonio National Park last month. Thanks to all of you and the great support from our community, the event raised almost $5000!! Thank you! Thank you!!

Kids Saving The Rainforest, a not for profit Costa Rican organization and US non profit 501 C 3, was founded 13 years ago with the Monkey Bridge Program, and later expanded by an overwhelming community need to include an Animal Rescue Center for the Quepos and Manuel Antonio area.


Founded by two young girls who recognized the need to help the local wildlife as tourism developments began to effect their natural habitat, this will be Kids Saving the Rainforest first fundraiser since it was founded. Accustomed to bringing in enough proceeds for the Rescue Center through their own souvenir shop, with the downturn in the economy, this badly needed facility would have been forced to close it's doors if they couldn’t raise enough money to cover their monthly expenses. Now granted, the $5000 raised is only a temporary solution, but is gave KSTR some temporary breathing room to brainstorm more ways to help make the center self sustaining. Along with that, the added exposure of the Center's needs, has resulted in a substantial interest in participating in their volunteer programs, as well as increasing the number of paying visitor to their daily animal feeding tours.

As mentioned in our last KSTR post on this blog, "A full time resident vet, animal caretaker, volunteers and a guard
all live on the property helping to rehab the many injured or confiscated animals. Unfortunately, this comes with a certain fixed cost, not to mention the food, maintenance, vet supplies and numerous other items required to care for a variety of exotic animals.", laments rescue center coordinator Jennifer Rice. "The rescue center is the only legal facility in the Central Pacific area, and is a very necessary part of our community." adds Ms. Rice.

All injured wild animals are brought by the community or by MINAET, the government entity in charge of overseeing the National Park system. At present there are some 55 different animals being treated to include exotic birds, 4 species of monkeys, 2 species of sloths, armadillos, agoutis, coati mundis, marmesets, timirins, and other exotic wildlife. Most are eventually re-released in the wild, though some are beyond rehabilitation and must stay permanently at the rescue facility.

“Saving injured wildlife is an integral part of living in this area.” says Kimberly
Barron, Director of Marketing at Hotel Byblos. “This was not just a feel good fundraiser; these beautiful animals are one of the main attractions for tourism in our area. Local Manuel Antonio hotels and tourism operations that depend on National and International visitors cannot afford to ignore the need for a full service animal rescue center, and we are impressed that the community stepped up for the occasion. With the increase in awareness tours of the facility to area visitors, the rescue center's continued operation is a win win for all concerned and we are very excited about it's future if we can continue to keep the word out there.” adds Ms. Barron.

This fundraiser was just one step in the overall animal rescue plan for the Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica area, and with ongoing corporate and social responsibility programs of tourism operations

like www.bybloshotelcostarica.com, not only will the local wildlife benefit, but the local tourist economy as well. If you would like to help, it’s easy by shopping at the Kids Saving the Rainforest souvenir store located at Hotel Mono Azul. All proceeds go directly to saving the rainforest and the endangered animals of our area. For more information about how you can make a donation please call 506-2777-2592 or you can donate directly by clicking on the Kids Saving the Rainforest donation page.

It's a Jungle out There and our Jungle Friends Need Us Now!

Author: Kimberly Barron, originally from Malibu, California has lived in Parismina and Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica for 20 years. Starting as a certified tour guide, she spent 15 years managing fishing lodges on the Caribbean Coast and later 4* & 5* Hotels on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Currently semi-retired, Kimberly still works as the Marketing Director for Byblos Resort & Casino and Hotel Makanda by the Sea.