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Jack Armstrong
The Wilder Side of Volunteering!

 
The term “volunteer work” does not usually bring to mind imagery of voyages to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.
 
Or of lying in hot tents, literally at an elephant’s feet, alerting members of the group you’ve been JACK ARMSTRONG IN BOTSWANAleading that they should awaken from their afternoon naps to take advantage of this amazing photo opportunity. 
 
For Jack Armstrong, however, a former employee of a pharmaceutical company, volunteer experiences have meant just that and more.  They have meant breathtaking adventure.
 
Jack opted for an early retirement in 1993 and then devoted his energy and skills to the Philadelphia Zoo.  In this new volunteer capacity, he found ways to combine his passions for animals and travel, the latter of which had long ago exposed him to the intense beauty of South Africa. 
 
He decided to facilitate travel opportunities for the Zoo’s “Zoofari Club,” where he not only organized camping trips to Africa but through which he also promoted the Zoo’s conservation programs.
 
He recalls his awe at the “rugged experience” of tent camping in Botswana, where food was prepared over a crackling nighttime fire for the Zoofari Club travelers as the wails of lions and hyenas alerted them to the fact that this was what studying animals in their natural habitat means. 
 
For those who were unable to make the trips, Jack created the Volunteer Voice, a monthly newsletter he authors for other volunteers at the Zoo.
 
“By being active, you get much more out of the volunteer experience,” Jack says, thinking back on the many positions of leadership he has undertaken since deciding to volunteer with the Zoo. 
 
Frances Andrews, director of volunteer services at the Philadelphia Zoo, concurs: “Jack’s wide variety of interests and his willingness to share so generously make him a person that others want to know and be with.”
 
Particularly, when there are wild animals about.