Lincoln Park Zoo Announces Seven-figure Gift for Community Engagement

Chicago (Sept. 22, 2016) —Lincoln Park Zoo President and CEO Kevin Bell today announced that Lincoln Park Zoo Trustee Tom Hurvis has awarded the institution a significant seven-figure gift that will support learning and community engagement initiatives. It is the largest grant for education and community engagement in the zoo's history.

“Tom Hurvis’s generous and committed support allows us to make our shared vision for community engagement and conservation education a reality for a very broad range of learners,” Bell said. “We are deeply grateful to Tom for enabling us to take this major step toward becoming a global leader in the realm of innovative learning initiatives.”

The announcement was made in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, where the program will launch. Joining neighbors and zoo officials at the community’s Jardincito Nature Play Garden were Lynne Pavletic, Lane Tech College Prep student and Lincoln Park Zoo Conservation Ambassador Board participant; students, parents and teachers from Hammond Elementary School; Our Lady of Tepeyac Head Start students; OPEN Center for the Arts Executive Director and Founder J. Omar Magana; and other community leaders including Cook County Commissioner Jesús "Chuy" García (7^th District), Ald. Ricardo Muñoz (22^nd Ward), Ald. George Cardenas (12th Ward).

“I have accomplished so much at Lincoln Park Zoo, including representing the zoo in my neighborhood,” said Lynne Pavletic. “When I get to represent the zoo in my community, I feel fantastic that I am spreading the very important message about how our community can contribute to conserving wildlife for generations to come—a message that changed my whole life.”

Implemented over the next five years, the new community engagement initiative will help mitigate human-wildlife conflict by fostering connections between people and the natural world that surrounds them—including plants and animals right in their backyards. To accomplish this, the zoo’s Hurvis Center for Learning team will: build strong, sustaining partnerships with communities—locally, nationally and globally; create a fellowship program that will provide early-career professionals experience in interpretation and informal learning; help local teens create programs that will have a real impact on their neighborhoods and develop their own career skills; enhance teacher training programs; and help forge deeper emotional connections to wildlife on zoo grounds.

“This unprecedented support will enable us to sustain and build upon inventive collaborations and partnerships with targeted neighborhoods, beginning in Little Village,” said Lincoln Park Zoo Vice President for Learning and Community Engagement Dana Murphy. “We look forward to having the ability to add at least one new community each year to increase our reach—here in Chicago, across the nation, and as far away as Tanzania. These are not short-term initiatives, and we will partner with those who join us to create long-term relationships that have a positive impact on environmental literacy and wildlife conservation through youth programs, technology, media and zoo experiences, and economic growth through internships and career development opportunities.”
 

Media Contacts        

Kelly McGrath                                         
312-742-2246
KMcGrath@lpzoo.org                                             

Emily Altimari
312-288-5129
EAltimari@lpzoo.org                                                                 

About Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo, a historic Chicago landmark founded in 1868, is dedicated to connecting people with nature by providing a free, family-oriented wildlife experience. A leader in conservation science both globally and locally, the zoo exemplifies the highest quality animal care and educational outreach. The not-for-profit zoo, managed by The Lincoln Park Zoological Society, is a member-supported organization and one of the nation’s only free, privately managed zoos. For more information, call 312 -742-2000 or visit lpzoo.org.