Save the Rhino is a small charity which has a vision for all five species of rhino to thrive in the wild for future generations to enjoy. They do this by funding a variety of programmes in Africa and Asia. I have been working part time for Save the Rhino for three weeks now, totaling six days and you’d be surprised at how much you can learn in so little time.
My passion is conservation and once I had already experienced other routes of conservation, such as field work and zoo programmes, I wanted to turn towards charities. I’m lucky enough to have two supervisors which allows me to focus on two areas of charity work, these are events and corporate relationships. This means I have a large variety of tasks, every day is different, so no excuses for boredom!
However, what has struck me is the importance of large events for small charities such as Save the Rhino. That may seem obvious to you but I don’t think you realise quite how prepared we are. The London Marathon is Save the Rhino’s largest event and even though it is not taking place again until April 2017, my first task when I sat in that office was to update the London Marathon webpage and everyday since, there has been a task dedicated to it.
If you didn’t know, Save the Rhino is famous amongst the London Marathon runners because of its iconic and pretty awesome rhino costumes (if you want that extra challenge when already running a 42km race). They weigh 8-10kg and you can’t see far ahead as the rhino head obstructs your view.
My work at Save the Rhino hasn’t been marked by the tasks that I’m doing but about the image a charity creates. The London Marathon is so important to Save the Rhino not only because it raises important funds but also because it follows their image of endurance and extreme sports, ultimately this comes through in all the work that I do with Save the Rhino – this is what everything revolves around.