The Pollyanna Pickering Foundation raises funds and campaigns for conservation and animal welfare in the UK and worldwide.

The Pollyanna Pickering Foundation was formally established in June 2001 to continue Pollyanna's commitment to working for the welfare of wildlife. The launch party was attended by guests from around the world, including visitors from Spain, Holland, France, Germany and Japan. The first fundraising event - a celebrity garden party - was held later that summer.

The Foundation was inaugurated just after Pollyanna had taken the difficult decision to close her hospital for injured birds of prey, and wanted to find a way of carrying on her conservation and rescue work with wildlife. Initially the Foundation was set up to raise funds for wildlife hospitals and sanctuaries carrying out similar work in rehabilitating British wildlife, and continues to buy equipment and build pens for many centres in the UK. However the Foundation’s scope soon widened to raise funds for the protection and rescue of wildlife worldwide as well as emergency disaster relief. Funds have been raised to help protect Rhinos in Africa, Wolves in Ethiopia, orphaned polar bears in the arctic, and help build a tiger orphanage in Nepal. Equipment has been purchased for project tiger rangers working in India, and many smaller grants have been made to wildlife and environmental projects. Although the majority of our work is with wildife, on occasion the Foundation also makes grants to other causes close to Pollyanna's heart, including cancer support and childrens charities.

Funds are raised through Pollyanna's exhibitions and talks, an annual prize draw, donations, and one off special events.

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Summary of Major Projects

The first major project, The Eye of the Tiger in the summer of 2001 raised over £5,500.00 to buy equipment for Project Tiger, and funds for the Victims of the Gujurat earthquake in India. In addition a letter writing campaign was initiated urging the Indian Prime Minister to give priority to Tiger Conservation. A petition of over 1,000 signatures was sent to the Indian Government.

“I am absolutely stunned by the magnificent cheque you have sent us following your "Eye of the Tiger" appeal. It is absolutely wonderful of you to help us in this way, and I am sure you know how extremely grateful we are"
Virginia McKenna
The Born Free Foundation/ Project Tiger.

"The generosity of the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation will give immediate relief to the survivors and help to rebuild their shattered lives. Please convey my thanks to all those involved in raising and contributing to this sum."
Brendan Gormley
Chief Executive/ Disasters Emergency Committee

The 2002 On Top of the World raised £3,700 to buy equipment for Born Free's project to rear and rehabilitate orphan polar bears in the Arctic, and in conjunction with the Brigitte Bardot Foundation a petition of over 1,000 signatures was sent to the Canadian Government in protest at the continued clubbing of seal cubs.

The 2003 Rhinoark appeal raised £4575.00 to help create a safe haven for Rhinos and other wildlife within the Aberdare national Park in Kenya.

The 2004 Company of Wolves Appeal raised £5660.00 for wolf conservation, £3650.00 of which purchased Rabies vaccine for the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Project.

The 2005 Land of the Snow Tiger appeal has to date raised £5750.00 to build a Tiger Orphanage in Nepal – fundraising is ongoing. A letter writing campaign has been initiated to urge the Russian government to relocate a planned oil pipeline which would destroy the habitat of the Amur Tiger.

The 2006 Shamwari Lion Appeal raised £8100.00 to build an enclosure for rescued circus lions within a sanctuary in South Africa, while in the same year the Haven appeal contributed £7,000.00 towards the founding of a new Breast cancer haven in Leeds. Pollyanna has since visited Shamwari to see the rescued lions in the sanctuary.

The 2007 Wonderful World appeal raised a further £3,500.00 towards the ongoing construction of the Tiger Orphanage in Nepal, and an additional £5,000.00 was donated to the Born Free Foundation to help fund the rescue of lions from zoos in Romania, and their transfer to the sanctuary at Shamwariy. The Foundation has paid for the construction of new pens, and a new hospital building at the Cedar wildlife Sanctuary in Derbyshire – and fundraising is ongoing to build further aviaries at their site.

The 2008 Land of the Thunder Dragon Appeal raised US$6,000.00 towards conservation work in Bhutan. The Cheetah Adoption programme and appeal launched in the same year has to date raised £2025.00 to help relocate threatened wild cheetahs in South Africa, and helped to secure a further £2150.00 in sponsorship.

The Foundation has been very active since in its inauguration, and in addition to the major appeals above has also assisted the following:

2001: The Foundation provides a wildlife hospital in Cheshire with six boxes of medical supplies; Over 100 slides of Indian wildlife sent to the Rajasthan province of India for use in a travelling education programme in schools; The Foundation builds artificial badger setts and tunnels at a sanctuary in Northumberland to assist in the rehabilitation and re-release of injured and orphaned badgers. The Foundation also joins forces with Naturewatch to promote their campaign to wipe out badger baiting in the UK.

2002: An incubator and runs are purchased for the Prickly Patch Hedgehog Hospital in Derbyshire; Two Iguanas sponsored in a breeding and release programme in Belize

2003: $2,5000.00 woth of building materials purchased for the Roar Foundation Big Cat Sanctuary; Grant to the Dorset Wildlife Trust Orchid appeal

"Thank you for your generous gift of $2,500.00 ........... without question you are helping to make a real difference in the lives of animals who would otherwise be struggling to survive"
Tippi Hedren The Roar Foundation

2004: Contribution towards the transportation costs of rescued lion 'Ma Juah' to the new sanctuary at Shamwari; £2,500 of materials purchased for new rehabilitation pens at 'Secret World' wildlife sanctuary

"Thank you so much for the fantastic donation towards our swan unit. My thanks for your support and kind wishes to all at Secret World"

Pauline Kidner
Founder Secret World

2005 : Six courses of Leprosy treatment paid for; £1,000 contributed towards the running costs of the Refuge 24 hour emergency help line, a further £1550.00 contribution to Born Free projects; The Macmillan Fund; the Derbyshire Association for the Blind, . Smaller grants have also been made to Ashgate Hospice, Wolfwatch UK, Care for the Wild, Friends of the Sea Otter, the Disasters Emergency Committee Tsunami Appeal, RNID, Epilepsy Action, RSPB local reserves, and St Helen’s community project, among others.

2006 : As part of our worldwide tiger conservation project, an additional grant of £1100.00 is made to the Siberian Tiger Conservation Trust, Grants also made to Naturewatch, WWF, Cheltenham Animal shelter, Epilepsy action, the Derwent Valley Donkey sanctuary, Bluebell wood children’s hospice, Sheffield Animal shelter, Worldvision,

2007 : Additional grants made to Cheltenham Animal Shelter, National Children’s Homes, Epilepsy Action and Born Free.

2008 : Continiuing our commitment to support wildlife rescue in the UK £750.00 was used to build a new hospital treatment area at the Cedar Wildlife sanctuary in Nottinghamshire. £1350.00 was raised for the RSPCA to purchase veterinary equipment to help treat abused animals. A generous donation of £100.00 from a visitor to one of Pollyanna’s talks meant that we could make a contribution to the Bifengxia Panda centre in the Sichuan province – the centre is currently expanding to provide shelter and care for some of the pandas rescued from the Wolong centre, which was badly damaged in the 2008 earthquake. The donation is enough to buy a kilo of specialist milk powder along with five fleece blankets, used to replicate the feel of a mother pandas fur for baby pandas being hand reared at the centre prior to being released into the wild.. A grant of £2,500.00 was made to Make A Wish, £500.00 was made to Barnados, and £750.00 to The Variety Club to help all three organisations in their excellent work with children. The Foundation contributed £1240.00 towards the building of the new Breast Cancer Haven in Leeds, £270 to the South Yorkshire Flood Relief Fund and £2400.00 towards the work of the Anthony Nolan Trust. The Foundation also supplied over 100 bars of soap along with toothbrushes, flannels and other items to the Operation Christmas Child appeal which distributes gift-filled shoeboxes to deprived children in Eastern Europe and Africa.