With generous Winter donations our total crept up steadily from $7000 to $9000, taking our puzzle over the magic 60 pieces mark – almost 2/3 of the way there!  Then Spring well and truly “blossomed” for Jigsaw and suddenly the prospect of counting down the remaining pieces has become a very real and exciting prospect!

Firstly, some dear friends held a lovely big sunny picnic day at their cottage in the country and quickly turned it into a FUN-raiser surprise for our bear!  With a giant bonfire to burn before the summer fire restrictions, the honour of lighting the bonfire was raffled off for Jigsaw. Guests quickly “warmed” to the idea of helping our bear and, along with some other raffle items generously donated on the spur of the moment, a quick $250 was raised and joyfully celebrated.

Then, on Sunday, October 10, after months of  preparation, donations of assorted goods and with the fabulous support of many friends – before, during and after – we booked a double stall at the highly successful Camberwell Trash and Treasure Market and in five and half hours raised a whopping total of $2080!!! After expenses, we netted $1940. Suddenly our overall total has jumped from $9316 to $11,256.

The market was a full-on experience:  our finely-tuned team arrived at 5 am to set up the stall (an art in itself to do well), with reinforcements arriving mid-morning. Hundreds of people stopped to read the posters and printouts we displayed and to find out more about bear bile farming. Many took away the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) pamphlets and our own AdoptAMoonBear business card.  While there were quite a few people who knew about bear bile farming (and mentioned recent documentaries on TV), there were hundreds who had no idea of the atrocious abuse of Moon Bears. Every one of those people will have been touched in some way by their interaction with our stall and Jigsaw’s story, and hopefully some will be moved to become more permanent supporters of AAF.

People expressed their compassion for the plight of the bears through their generosity. Shoppers came to the stall specifically to donate money (ie without purchasing anything), some almost in tears as they quickly gave us their donation. Others gave us back their change. Quite a few shoppers looked determinedly for something to buy, just so they could support the bears! A lady was overheard at the other end of the market (and it is a HUGE venue), talking excitedly about the “wonderful people saving the Moon Bears up the other end of the market!”, while showing her purchase (from our stall) to her friends. And a woman with 2 small children suggested they each buy one soft toy for 50 cents while encouraging them to donate the remaining 50 cents of their $1 coins.

The money raised turned over 12 more pieces of our Jigsaw, bringing the total to 72!  Suddenly there only 22 pieces to go!!

All the hard work required to bring our market stall into being was worth every cent we made for our beautiful, long-suffering Moon Bear, Jigsaw.

Of course, none of this could have happened without the tremendous support and creative talents of my friends and my husband, Bill, who have supported Jigsaw from the very beginning, with donations and a willingness to be involved in any way I ask. I feel a deep sense of gratitude to them all for their encouragement and support in holding strong the vision of rescuing our beautiful bear.

So Springtime has brought with it a real flourishing of fur for our bear! And do you know what….I can almost feel Jigsaw breathing, pricking up his ears and smelling his freedom….

One of the real delights of raising money in support of Moon Bears is watching how and where the message spreads. While raising money for Jigsaw is our primary focus, I am constantly surprised by who “picks up the ball” .

Jigsaw is now being supported by children at two schools: right from the beginning by my young friend Lily’s Sophia Mundi Steiner School here in Abbotsford Melbourne, and now by Year 3 at Angaston Primary School in SA.

Lily produced a beautiful school project -really a little book – about Jigsaw’s story and the horror of bear farming, from the bear’s point of view. It is a simply told tale but its message can be clearly understood and appreciated by young readers. For this reason I have made copies of it to give to schools.

Year 3 at Angaston Primary had been studying endangered species and coincidentally were looking for a class fund-raising project. As luck would have it, a daughter of a good friend is in Year 3, so I sent her a copy of Lily’s book which she shared with her classmates and they instantly embraced Jigsaw!  The kids held a “wear your pj’s to school day” for a gold coin donation and raised $258.86. Their class teacher remarked on the colourful parade to be seen at recess time! I was impressed at how  it was both a fun and age-appropriate way to raise money.

However, the class had set a goal of donating two pieces of the puzzle. Enthused by their efforts so far, they organized their own stall at a school market day, reaching the grand combined total of $324.95. Their teacher has told me how thrilled the class is with their achievement and so they should be! I am so proud of their efforts!

And the great news for Jigsaw is that they are  thinking of holding another FUN-raiser next term so they can purchase a third piece of the puzzle!!

Just as important as all the money being raised is the sense of accomplishment each child will feel through being part of this project. It will be an experience they never forget, knowing they have contributed toward rescuing an animal from a terrible life of suffering and pain. Jigsaw will become an important part of their lives as they follow his (or her) progress for many a year to come..

THANK YOU so much to everyone in Year 3 and to your teacher Ms Watkins. Thank you Isabel for taking Jigsaw’s message to your class. And Lily, thank you for your wonderful book that continues to inspire adults and children alike.

PS: If you work at a school (or are a student) and would like a copy of Lily’s book to help you hold a fuN-raiser for Jigsaw, then please email me through this website.