Quest for the Best to match donations to Elmwood Park Zoo
Elmwood Park Zoo is excited to announce that the charitable foundation Quest for the Best will match every private donation that the zoo receives throughout the month of May, up to $25,000. Quest for the Best will also count zoo memberships, adopt-an-animal packages, and gift cards purchased during this period toward their matching program.
Immediately after its closure in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the zoo began raising money for an Emergency Fund to support its daily animal care expenses. Without the ability to rely on admission revenue, the cost of essential items like food and medication threatened to empty the zoo’s reserves. Donations made to the Emergency Fund have directly supported these expenses.
“We are thankful to the Quest for the Best Foundation for presenting us with this matching grant that will double the donations made by the community,” said Jennifer Conti, Elmwood Park Zoo’s Director of Development. “We are very much looking forward to when our gates can open again, and each donation makes a difference until we are given permission to do so.”
“In furtherance of its mission to provide financial support to worthy causes in the Delaware Valley, Quest for the Best is pleased to support the Elmwood Park Zoo at a time when it faces enormous challenges in meeting the costs of maintaining the health, well-being, and safety of its animals,” said Taras Wochok, President of Quest for the Best.
Quest for the Best is led by legal professionals that provide business and transactional legal services to nonprofit organizations primarily located in Montgomery, Chester, Delaware and Bucks Counties. They also provide counseling and advice to the appropriate individuals that are served by these organizations.
“We are eternally grateful to Quest for the Best, as well as all of the zoo’s members, patrons and neighbors that have supported us during this time,” said Al Zone, Elmwood Park Zoo’s Executive Director and CEO. “Quest for the Best’s matching program to support our Emergency Fund will no doubt attract new supporters, while helping to ensure that we can continue providing our animals with exceptional care.”
Donations can be made to Elmwood Park Zoo’s Emergency Fund by visiting elmwoodparkzoo.org/emergency or by calling 610.277.3825 x 229.
“EPZOO2U” PROVIDES LIVE AND VIRTUAL CONTENT FOR WEB VISITORS
Elmwood Park Zoo is excited to announce its new online destination for fun and educational content, “EPZoo2U.com.” The website provides guests with links to the zoo’s various videos, live streams, games and lessons that can be enjoyed for free by both children and adults. The zoo’s intent with EPZoo2U.com is to continue to provide the community with experiences that will inspire a commitment to wildlife conservation, even while the zoo is closed to daily visitors.
The highlight of Elmwood Park Zoo’s online educational offerings is “Bubby’s Club.” Named after the zoo’s bison mascot, “Bubby’s Club” features a number of activities, such as browser-based games that task children with identifying animal sounds, and finding the creatures that use camouflage to disappear in their environment. Visitors can also watch videos, and read through the books selected by Bubby in his very own book club.
Beginning Tuesday, March 17, the zoo will also be broadcasting “Zoo School Live!” through Facebook Live. This 15 to 20 minute program will feature the zoo’s Education Team presenting a lesson along with an animal from the zoo’s Ambassador program. Viewers can post questions to be answered live during the stream. Anyone who misses the broadcast will be able to watch the post throughout the day on Facebook, or visit the archive hosted on EPZoo2U.com. “Zoo School Live!” will stream live Monday through Friday at 11 am.
“Education has always been the cornerstone of Elmwood Park Zoo – it’s our first consideration in all our endeavors” says Jennifer Conti, Elmwood Park Zoo’s Development Director. “Our commitment to educate and engage with the community remains true even now, and we hope families can use or educational resources as so many homes become schools.”
The zoo will be working in the coming days to add content to EPZoo2U.com, such virtual tours and live streams of exhibit animals. Updates will be announced and made available on EPZoo2U.com, as well as elmwoodparkzoo.org.
Elmwood Park Zoo is one of many organizations to close during Pennsylvania State’s response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. On Friday, March 13, the zoo began a drive to support its Emergency Fund. The fund seeks to offset the zoo’s substantial financial loss caused by the loss of daily visitors. For information on how to support the Emergency Fund, visit elmwoodparkzoo.org.
Elmwood Park Zoo Monitors COVID-19 Outbreak
Elmwood Park Zoo is closely monitoring the global outbreak of COVID-19. We are following updates from organizations including the Montgomery County Office of Public Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to stay informed on the latest developments. The threat of contracting COVID-19 remains low at this time and therefore the Zoo will remain open. We will update our operations as the situation requires and will continue to take the necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of our guests and employees. Questions can be directed to us at zoo@elmwoodparkzoo.org.