Today I write about some of the organizational changes occurring at The Oasis.
When I founded The Oasis Sanctuary in the mid 1990’s on my property in Phoenix, I envisioned that we would attract the kind of people – donors, members, staff, volunteers and Board members – who would enable us to grow and help an ever increasing number of birds. This has happened far more quickly than I, or anyone else, had imagined. Over the next years, an amazing assortment of people came to help make this dream a reality…and many of them are still with The Oasis today. Others have come and gone but their imprint, their love of birds, their support has brought all this into becoming what it is today.
The Oasis has rapidly grown from my backyard to becoming the most highly regarded, largest life-care facility primarily for parrots in the United States. With the help of all of you, we have developed a very sound and solid footing, one upon which we can continue to build an ethical, forward-thinking organization which will help increasing numbers of birds and their caregivers over the years to come.
Having worked in the world of non-profits over the last 30 years, I was aware that at some point…and I hoped within my healthy lifetime…a different set of people would step up to take over the daily operation of the organization, people with a different skill-set than I have. While I might be called a “charismatic leader” or a “visionary”, with the expanding demands of the facility and organization, I am proud to say that I am able at this time to step down as Executive Director of The Oasis Sanctuary and hand the reins over to a new generation of hardworking and dedicated people.
We are officially announcing the change which went into effect about three months ago. Joe Dyson is now the Executive Director of Operations; Janet Trumbule is Executive Director of Administration; and Julie Dyson is Associate Director and Volunteer Liaison. These three individuals have worked tirelessly, continuing their responsibilities as Animal Caregivers, but also making sure that The Oasis Sanctuary runs smoothly and fulfills not only its mandate, but the needs of the birds as individuals. They work seamlessly with the rest of our staff and volunteers.
I will continue to be deeply involved with the Sanctuary. I remain on, of course, as President of the Board, primary spokesperson for this organization and for the parrots we all love, and primary fundraiser. My dedication to The Oasis is and will remain a lifelong passion and commitment. For any of you who wish to speak with me, I am available on my private line 520-212-1718. The best way to contact me by email is sybil@the-oasis.org.
I want to once again extend an invitation to you all to come out and visit The Oasis, have a tour or spend a week volunteering, and see how far we have come in the past decade. You will, undoubtedly, be pleased and amazed by the ongoing work of The Oasis Sanctuary.
I look forward to continuing my deep personal and emotional involvement and commitment to The Oasis Sanctuary for the rest of my lifetime. Once again I thank you all for helping this dream of a world-class refuge for the parrots we love become a reality. Remember: We could not be doing this without YOU!
Thank you for your donations in honor of Sybil's
hard work and dedication
Samantha Brees
Ellen Nicol
Dr Ruth Sosis
If YOU would like to make an honorary donation, click on the "donate now" button below and let us know via e-mail that the donation is an honorary donation, or as always, you can send a check or call Charlotte at (602) 863-1543 or Ruth Ann at (480) 946-4955 to donate with a credit card.
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Meet The Oasis Sanctuary’s New Directors
Janet Trumbule, Executive Director of Administration
Joe Dyson, Executive Director of Operations
Julie Dyson, Associate Director/Volunteer Liaison
Joe, Julie & Janet
For the Birds….you have seen this sign-off many times in letters from Sybil. For the staff of The Oasis, it is why we are here. Joe and Julie Dyson have been a part of The Oasis team for 4½ years. Janet Trumbule joined the group 3 years ago. Each of us left lucrative jobs, family and friends to be here for the birds. They have become a very important part of our lives.
Our first priority has always been the care of the birds. However, over the years, Sybil and the Board of Directors have given us the wonderful opportunity to be intimately involved with developing and implementing many of our sanctuary programs, additional and improved infrastructure and our bird care processes. This hands-on involvement has provided us with the knowledge and ability to now take on the responsibilities of managing the sanctuary operations on a daily basis. As Sybil moves into her new role, we are proud to be able to continue the dream that she made reality.
As all of you have, we joined Sybil because we believe in her work. We see the need and the importance of sanctuary for the many parrots that have no other option. Over the years, Sybil’s efforts and hard work have built a truly remarkable place, a highly regarded life-care facility like no other. We continue to share her dream and vision and will carry on with the same high ethics and principles that she always has.
Our plans for the immediate future include continuing work on infrastructure development to support our growing flock. Additional flights are scheduled to be built, upgrades to our water and electrical systems are in the works, and much needed indoor housing options for the birds are being considered. We also are looking into bringing you more opportunities to connect with the birds at the sanctuary by possibly installing a webcam and publishing blog updates on the day-to-day happenings with the birds. Today, all of this work needs to be done around our schedules as Animal Caregivers. We continue to work on integrating birds into flocks or pairs, providing special care and support for our ill and handicapped birds, flight training for future aviary birds and socialization with all of the birds. We may have new responsibilities, but the daily care of the animals remains our priority.
So much has been done but we have not done this alone. All of you, our donors, members, sponsors, volunteers, staff and Board of Directors, are an integral part of everything that we do for the birds. We truly appreciate all that you have given in the past. With your support The Oasis team will continue this very important and necessary work. We ask that you continue to be involved and to be a part of this wonderful place. We want to hear your thoughts and ideas on how we can make The Oasis even better. We would love to have you visit, volunteer or just contact us to chat about the birds and the work being done here. We ask for your patience should we not respond immediately. As mentioned earlier, we do have quite a busy daily schedule.
We can be contacted at the office number 520-212-4737 or via email as shown below. Thank you for your support. We look forward to chatting with you or even better, meeting you soon. Come on out and volunteer.
Janet Trumbule – Executive Director of Administration
jetrumbule@the-oasis.org
Joe Dyson- Executive Director of Operations
Julie Dyson –Associate Director/Volunteer Liaison
Jdyson.oasis@gmail.com
For General Inquiries, email Oasis@the-oasis.org
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WELCOME TO THE OASIS SANCTUARY WEBSITE
The Oasis relies on you for support, so why not
donate now?The Oasis Sanctuary is a life-care facility for captive Exotic birds. In particular we are a refuge for parrots, cockatoos, macaws and other Psittacine birds (predominantly CITES I and II endangered birds), although we do accept Passerines (finches and canaries), Columbiformes (doves and "fancy" or racing pigeons), and other captive avian species. In some instances it is not appropriate — or desirable — to place a bird into a private home through adoption. In these cases, sanctuary placement insures a permanent, stable, long term home. We offer birds a stable and loving home for the duration of their natural lives.They are given every opportunity to behave naturally in a wonderfully loving environment. At our sanctuary we always put the animal’s best interests before our own and always remember they are the reason why we are here.
As a true sanctuary, we do not offer birds for adoption, however we work with and refer birds requiring re-homing to bona fide adoption programs around the country.
Many of The Oasis birds come from other rehabilitation and/or adoption programs where qualified personnel have determined that it is not in the bird's best interests to be placed in private homes. Some of our birds have "special needs", are physically handicapped or challenged requiring unique living or feeding situations. Others have been bounced from home to home, often being physically and/or emotionally abused and have simply become too fearful of people to be companions to people any longer.
Building and operating a sanctuary is not easy and is definitely not cheap. However to give the animals the very best environment possible, we are committed to doing whatever it takes to accomplish this goal.
The Oasis Sanctuary is proud to be the first exotic bird sanctuary to have received dual accreditation from the American Sanctuary Association (ASA) and the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS).
The Oasis Sanctuary was incorporated in the State of Arizona on May 22, 1997. We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Our Federal EIN number is 86-0885646. We are also registered with the Secretary of State in Arizona as a recognized charity.
