Trigger is happy to announce that the construction of the Samling ranger station in Cambodia that was funded through Trigger Change has been successfully completed. The Samling ranger station, which was built in conjunction with the Cambodian Forestry Administration and the Wildlife Alliance, is placed in a major portal used to move illegal timber, charcoal, and wildlife into and out of the Cardamom mountains.  Rangers at the station have already confiscated a number of items including chainsaws, motorcycles, charcoal kilns, and luxury timber and have released live animals that were captured by offenders. To see images of the station before it was complete, view this previous blog post.

Be sure to check out the gallery below to see some great shots of the newly-completed Samling ranger station!

As you may have read in a previous blog post, Trigger is funding the construction of ranger stations in Cambodia through Trigger Change. We recently received some new images from the Wildlife Alliance of the Samling Ranger Station, which is currently being constructed and is about 85% complete. The images below were taken on June 5th, 2010, and you can really tell this station is going to turn out great:

In 2008, Trigger joined discussions with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International to fund the construction of ranger stations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The funds for one of the ranger stations were diverted to create a radio station in the area. The station has a staff of 13 journalists from the Tayna Center for Conservation Biology and is one of the few sources of outside information for about 300,000 people within a 62-mile radius. Like all donations made through the Trigger Change program, Trigger would like to thank its clients for making these efforts possible. View the photo gallery below to take a look at the radio station and its manager, Kavusa.

From donations made by Trigger, our clients, and the Yim family during the 2009 holiday season, school buildings have already been constructed in Khost Province, Afghanistan in support of CARE’s Lower Community Based Education Project. The project, which promotes access to safe learning spaces through the construction of two three-classroom schools, was completed just before the start of the new academic year on March 21st, 2010.

The schools help roughly 600 students, primarily girls, get education in the area. This project will help local communities be sustained in the involvement of education, with a bright future to gain from investing in the education of their children. This is the 7th construction project Trigger has made through Trigger Change, and we sincerely thank our clients and the Yim family for making this all possible.

Take a look at the screenshots of the schools below:

During the 2008 holiday season, Trigger partnered with our clients to fund early childhood development centers in Kibera, Kenya through CARE as part of our ongoing Trigger Change program. Here are the results from that donation:

CARE started the ECD project, which targets children under 8, in 2006 in response to the high prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Kenya. The project’s goal is to offer the young children improved education, nutrition, health, rights empowerment, and economic empowerment for their caregivers.

In the past year the Trigger Change donation was used to improve the infrastructure in three home-based early childhood development centers and to provide orphans and vulnerable children with a healthy mid-morning snack of enriched porridge. The Shammah Day Care, Emmanuel Day Care, and Linda Day Care were all renovated and acquired improved floors, wall repairs and painting, partitions for rooms, and reinforcement of roofing structures. Over 250 children are now benefiting from these improved learning conditions. A total of 1,500 orphans and vulnerable children were provided a daily nutritious snack of porridge for three months as well. The daily porridge not only helped increase enrollment of early childhood development centers, but there was also a marked decline in the number of stomach upsets reported since the snack was added to the program. It is always important to give back, and it is great to see that the lives of orphans and vulnerable children are improving in Kenya thanks to everyone’s contribution.

Check out the photos below to see the progress made:

As part of Trigger Change, Trigger is funding the construction of ranger stations in Cambodia in conjunction with the Cambodian Forestry Administration and the Wildlife Alliance. Things are progressing and looking good with the 2nd ranger station. These shots of the Samling Ranger Station’s construction were taken during aerial patrols on November 28th:

The station will be completed in January. Thanks to Eddie from the Wildlife Alliance for taking these pictures.

To learn more about this project and to see pictures of the Stung Proat Ranger Station, take a look at this previous blog post.

Jason Yim, Trigger’s president and executive creative director, was featured in the Business News section of last Sunday’s edition of the LA Times. The article, entitled “Marketing in the modern world”, was written by Richard Verrier for a column called “How I Made It.”

The piece profiles Jason as a business leader and philanthropist, leading readers through his background and founding of Trigger, his goal of establishing “a global marketing agency for the digital era,” his strategy for marketing movies through new media, the challenges and opportunities related to opening Trigger’s China office, and his work with Care and other nonprofits.

Read “How I Made It: Jason Yim, Marketing in the Modern World” on LATimes.com »

“When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.” – Dian Fossey

Trigger’s President and Founder, Jason Yim, was one of the many people impacted by the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey. Dian Fossey lived among endangered Rwandan mountain gorillas, showed the world their powerful beauty and grace, and inspired others to join her battle to save them from poaching and extinction.

Trigger is proud to have joined forces with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International to help support reserves that protect gorillas and other species. These reserves help ensure the survival and safe passage of wildlife in the Democratic Republic of Congo as they traverse the biodiversity corridor between two national parks, Maiko and Kahuzi-Biega.

Specifically, Trigger is helping to fund the construction of ranger patrol stations that give those involved in the monitoring and protection of these reserves a safe and strategic place to work. Construction has already begun on one station, which will likely be completed by the end of September 2009.

Learn More about the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International »

“The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what is capable of receiving.” – Albert Einstein

At Trigger, we’re thankful for all that we’ve received, but the contracts we’re awarded and the honors we earn hold the most value for us when they allow us to give back.

We’re extremely proud of what the Trigger family has been able to accomplish via Trigger Change, especially during a worldwide economic recession. In fact, we specifically decided to stay the course and continue the program during the downturn.

You can learn more about Trigger Change in our latest press release at SHOOT.

In 2007, Trigger Change aided in the construction of the Stung Proat Ranger Station in southwestern Cambodia. Trigger funded the project entirely and has played a key role from day one, including assisting in the planning of the ranger station, as well as working closely with the Wildlife Alliance.

The ranger station will enable the Wildlife Alliance and the Cambodian Forestry Administration to conduct effective on-the-ground patrols and respond quickly to illegal activities. It is estimated this will help to dramatically reduce poaching and habitat destruction in the area, including decreasing the amount of elephant killings by up to 95%, and tiger killings by as much as 50%. The Cardamom Mountain Range, where the range station is located, is host to fourteen globally-endangered and -threatened species. This includes the Asian Elephant, the Indochinese Tiger, the Malayan Sun Bear, the Pileated Gibbon, Siamese Crocodiles and many bird species. The station is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month, and Trigger is proud to be a part of this success.

Check out the photos below: