A number of celebrities famed for their baking ability are supporting a special fundraising campaign to help save orangutans from extinction. Cakes for Apes is an initiative of International Animal Rescue (IAR) which runs a rescue and rehabilitation centre for orangutans in West Borneo. It aims to get people baking for their friends, family and colleagues as a fun-filled way of fundraising for IAR’s orangutan project.
The countdown to Cakes for Apes starts this week, with the event itself taking place between 23 and 30 April. IAR has enlisted the support of a number of cake-baking celebrities who have each donated a special recipe to help get people started.
TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton has shared the recipe for banana bread from her cookbook “COOK EAT LOVE,” saying: “IAR does fantastic work rescuing orangutans and other suffering animals. I hope lots of people will use my recipe to get baking and raise vital funds for their life-saving work.”
Joining Fearne in supporting the event are reality TV star Lucy Watson, with her vegan chocolate fudge cake recipe, and vegan blogger Deliciously Ella with her raspberry chocolate chunk cookies. From the US, Cakes for Apes is being promoted by bestselling author Jane Green who has donated her recipe for lemon and almond tart, stating: “International Animal Rescue is truly the last and only hope for orangutans in West Borneo, so it’s time to get baking and show your support!”
IAR’s Community Fundraiser Phily Kennington says: “We rely entirely on public donations to fund our work rescuing and caring for orangutans and other suffering animals - and we are constantly in awe of the amazing things people do to support us. We’ve created Cakes for Apes as an opportunity for everyone to get involved. After all, who doesn’t love cake?! So those of us who aren’t keen on baking can do our bit by making a donation in exchange for some cake – or by buying some cakes to sell to friends or in our workplace. We hope this will be a really enjoyable event for people the world over and that it will help raise awareness as well as funds for our vital work.”
Alan Knight, IAR CEO, comments: “While the threats facing orangutan populations are deadly serious, there’s no reason why efforts to support our work to save them shouldn’t involve a large dollop of fun. We’re so grateful to everyone who helps us raise awareness and funds– and with the orangutan now listed as Critically Endangered, we need their help more than ever if we are to save the species from extinction. Our teams in Indonesia do incredible work rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing orangutans back into the wild – but we all know that none of this work would be possible without our fantastic fundraisers.”
Anyone wishing to take part in the event can sign up for a free digital fundraising pack via the Cakes for Apes website – www.cakes4apes.org or request a postal version by calling IAR’s office on +44 (0)1825 767688. The pack is filled with ideas and suggestions on how to hold a successful cake sale for colleagues at work or host the best tea party in town for friends and family at home. Participants can also buy a limited edition ‘Ape-ron’ to get them in the baking mood, or use it as a gift or a fundraising prize.
