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Remembering Shirley Temple Black, NWF Spokesperson and Board Member
We learned today of the passing of former child star Shirley Temple Black, who died of natural causes Monday night at the age of 85. Among her many accomplishments—from being the curly-headed darling of Hollywood to her years as a foreign diplomat—we knew her as one of National Wildlife Federation’s first celebrity spokespeople.
In 1940, just four years after NWF was founded, Shirley Temple served as an honorary chairman of Wildlife Week, and helped promote our collectible conservation stamps, seen below in a photo from our archives. These stamps played a huge role in establishing a connection between artists and conservationists, and in building National Wildlife Federation in its early years. Eventually NWF issued stamps featuring more than 1,000 species and raised millions of dollars for wildlife conservation.
In the 1970s, she joined us again, and served two years on National Wildlife Federation’s Board of Directors.
Thank you, Shirley, for the help you gave National Wildlife Federation. To her family, our condolences.