Fabergé eggs are pretty, but these ostrich eggs are next level (for a good cause)

An animal sanctuary on Hawaii Island has a wild idea to bring in some much-needed donations.

They’re hoping a unique auction will ‘eggnite’ a lot of excitement. 2020 started on a high note for the owners of Kona’s Three Ring Ranch, which is home to over a hundred animals — some feathered, some furry.

“We were booked solid for the year,” said Ann Goody, the ranch’s owner. “We had after-school mentor programs running year-round. It was going to be a fantastic year education-wise for Three Ring Ranch, and financially for the ranch.”

But the pandemic quickly changed all that. The ranch had to end its mentorships and programs, and close its gates to visitors.

“It’s been strange for the animals, really strange, because the animals tend to enjoy the interaction,” said Goody. “We re-did our budget. We stripped it. We dropped it down $40,000. And for us, a tiny little place like that, that’s massive. And then even dropped down like that, we looked at our potential income and figured were we’re going to be $26,000 dollars off.”

Goody needed a plan and she came up with a truly big one thanks to her ostriches.

“These eggs I had been collecting and I was wondering ‘what are we going to do with these eggs?’ And then I thought, ‘I bet an artist can take one of these eggs and do something that I couldn’t even imagine,’” she said.

Then 20 artists from around the world each took an egg. And the rules were simple.

“There are no rules,” said Goody. “You can do whatever you want with an egg.”

They created everything from a beach-inspired orb to a super-sized sundae. All of the eggs will be up for auction online starting Nov. 15 and 100% of the proceeds will be used to care for the animals. Supporters can also help by virtually adopting an animal and covering the costs to keep it fed and happy.

“If you’ve always wanted to have a monkey, but you know having a monkey is not a good idea, you can adopt a monkey,” Goody told HNN. “Or if you’ve got a family member who you think is absolutely nuts - make him a monkey’s uncle!”

See original article here