Community
CARESOUR 2015
about
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T
he Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is deeply committed to our community and thankful for all the support we
receive. We strive to be a good community partner and hope to be admired for the way we give back to the
community as much as for the quality of animal care, programs and entertainment we provide.
Special Admissions Programs
The Zoo receives hundreds of requests each year to provide
deserving parties with free or discounted admission, and we
are happy to lend a helping hand. In 2015 these included:
Year Round:
– Half-price Tuesdays for senior citizens
– Half-price Mondays–Wednesdays for Franklin County residents
– $2 admission for Franklin County school children
– $4 admission for non-Franklin County school children
– $2 discount for military personnel
Provided over 5,000 complimentary tickets to:
– A Kid Again
– American Cancer Society
– Amercian Lung Association
– Autism Society of Ohio
– BalletMet
– Buckeye Ranch Foundation Inc
– Children’s Hunger Alliance
– City Year Columbus
– Columbus Children’s Theatre
– Columbus Symphony Orchestra
– Community Shares of Mid Ohio
– Cornerstone of Hope
– Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
– Central Ohio Diabetes Assoc.
– Franklin County and Columbus
Medical Reserve Corps
– Gladden Community House
– Goodwill Columbus
– Homeless Families Foundation
– Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
– Make-A-Wish
– Mid-Ohio Foodbank
– Nationwide Children’s
Hospital
– National Canine Cancer
Foundation
– New Directions Career Center
– ProMusica
– Relay for Life
– Ronald McDonald House
– Special Olympics
– The Domestic Violence Shelter
– The MedVet Foundation
– YMCA
Special Offers:
– Sponsored the COTA Zoo Bus and provided discounts for riders during peak season
– Big Brothers/Big Sisters buy one, get one free discount
– BOGO offer on admission with membership to these Franklin County
organizations: COSI, The Columbus Art Museum, Franklin Park Conservatory,
King Arts, The History Center, Ohio Village and the Wexner Center
– Free admission for military families the week of July 4 and on Veterans Day
– Free admission for those who donated food to Mid-Ohio Foodbank at the
Stuff the Truck food drive, sponsored by the Zoo and Kroger
– Free admission on Dec. 12 for those who donated an enrichment item for the Zoo’s
animals from the Giving Tree program
– Free admission on Mar. 14 to anyone who wears green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day
– Free admission on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents’ Day
– Free admission to Zoombezi Bay for active military families through the USO of
Central and Southern Ohio, during the water park’s opening weekend
– Free admission to Columbus Metropolitan Library Reading Program participants
– Half-price admission for Multiple Sclerosis Walk participants
– Half-price admission in January, February and March
– Hosted a First Responder Appreciation Week during Wildlights, where first
responders and up to three guests received free admission
– Hosted two Zoo Day events for 1,886 people from Columbus City Schools and the
Dowd Center: Homeless Families Foundation
– Mel Dodge Days, supporting the Columbus Recreation and Parks department,
which ran Monday–Thursday from June to August, providing free admission,
transportation by bus, Zoo bag, Creature Cash and access to Zoo attractions to
2,200 children and their guardians
– Discounted golf fees and two-for-one range balls supporting area school teams
– Discounted golf fees for golf league, Fore Hope, which supports disabled golfers
– Provided more than 1,000 complimentary rounds to local charitable causes
Community and Special Events
In 2015, Zoo animals and/or character ambassadors made appearances at no charge at more than 100 programs for a variety of
organizations.
Animal and/or Character Ambassador appearances included:
– Area chambers of commerce
– Area convention and visitors bureaus
– Area Boy Scout troops
– Area Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs
– Area nursing and hospice homes
– Area parades
– Area schools
– A Special Wish Foundation
– A Kid Again
– Central Ohio Home and Garden Show
– Children’s Hunger Alliance
– City of Columbus
– Columbus Audubon
– Columbus Clippers
– Columbus Commons
– Columbus Crew
– The Columbus Foundation
– Columbus Metropolitan Library
– Columbus Recreation and Parks
– Dawes Arboretum
– Delaware County Humane Society
– Delaware County Libraries
– Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow
– Experience Columbus
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Cares About Our Community 2015
– Franklin Park Conservatory
– Liberty Fire Department
– Local Convention and Visitor Bureaus
– Nationwide Children’s Hospital
– Nellie’s Champions for Kids
– Ohio Bird Sanctuary
– Ohio Machine
– Ohio State Fair
– Ohio Wildlife Center
– Red White and Boom
– Senior Living Festival
– Village of Powell Community Festival
www.columbuszoo.org
pg. 1
Zoo Hosted Events:
– Columbus Chamber of Commerce Clambake
– Canine Companions for Independence visit the Zoo to help train students
and assistance dogs
– Dream Night for terminally ill children and their families with A Kid Again
– Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, a local qualifier for youth golfers
– Earth Day Celebration featuring area wildlife and conservation
organizations
– Fallen 15 evening that honors 15 fallen service members in the Central
Ohio area and their families
– Hosted four JazZoo concerts in partnership with the Jazz Arts Group, Wells
Fargo Advisors, and the Columbus Dispatch
– Hosted Make-A-Wish families and the Believe Campaign during Wildlights,
which encouraged guests to write a letter to Santa at the Zoo. For each
letter received Macy’s donated $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million, to help
grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
– Hosted Make-A-Wish families for World Wish Day
– Hosted six OhioHealth HOOFit walks, where 600 guests learned wellness
tips from health experts while taking a special tour of the Zoo
– Hosted the Memorial Tournament’s Junior Golf Clinic at Safari Golf Club
– Nellie’s Champions for Kids event that spotlights children that have cancer
and their families
– Polar Bear Open at Safari Golf Club benefiting Dublin AM Rotary’s charities
– Polar Plunge benefiting Special Olympics Ohio
– Powell Chamber of Commerce Taste of Powell event
– Stuff the Truck food drive, benefiting Mid-Ohio Foodbank
– Ohio Minority Supplier Diversity Council Annual Business Opportunity Golf
Outing
– Ohio Wesleyan University Women’s Safari Fall Invitational at Safari Golf
– Veterans Affairs Welcome Home Event and cookout hosted during the
Fourth of July week honoring military veterans and their families
Other Community Involvement
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium values its involvement with the local community. In 2015, the Zoo fostered its relationship with several
community partners and organizations by providing our services and creating special Zoo experiences.
– Collaborated with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to create the Fighting
Faces calendar, which featured children with cancer and Zoo animals; all
proceeds benefited the Zoo’s conservation fund, Nellie’s Catwalk for Kids and
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
– Conducted multiple training exercises with Liberty Township Fire Department
– Delaware County Chamber of Commerce Safety Council member
– Donated books to the Homeless Families Foundation
– Donated retail merchandise to the Homeless Families Foundation
– Fulfilled nearly 500 donation requests, which included tickets to the Zoo,
Zoombezi Bay and the Wilds
– Hosted 20 area businesses and organizations for the employee Health and
Benefits Fair
– Jack Hanna appeared at events for local organizations including the Jewish
Community Center of Greater Columbus, Taste of Powell, and the Chamber
of Commerce Clam Bake
– Jack Hanna provided five video public service announcements to
support organizations including the 2nd & 7 Foundation, Nellie’s Catwalk for
Kids, and the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts
– Member of Central Ohio American Society of Civil Engineers
– Member of the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency’s
Dangerous Wild Animal Response Team
– Member of Materials Management Working Group for the Mid-Ohio
Regional Planning Commission
– Member of the Ohio By-Product Synergy Network
– Member of United Way of Delaware County’s Financial Stability Impact Team
– Provided access to Safari Golf Club practice facilities to local churches
– Provided use of Zoo and Zoombezi Bay grounds for Columbus Fire
Department’s Bomb Squad
– Served on the Ohio Business Leadership Network Board, which promotes the
business imperative to include people with disabilities in the workforce using
a business-to-business model
The Zoo provided special Zoo experiences to more
than 600 individuals and organizations including:
– Provided Touch the Heart to Teach the Mind tours, which allow
participants in the following programs to have an up close special
encounter with our animal ambassadors:
– A Special Wish Foundation
– Make-A-Wish children
– Wish of a Lifetime
– Provided VIP Experience Passes to:
– American Cancer Society
– American Red Cross
– Columbus Young Professionals Club
– Ronald McDonald House
– Travel writers hosted by Experience Columbus
Columbus Zoo team members give back:
– Donated toys and gift cards to The Homeless Families Foundation, which
delivers programs and services to homeless children and families in
central Ohio
– Members of ZooGooders volunteered 91 hours placing flags at the
Statehouse for the 9/11 tribute, planting bulbs at the Franklin Park
Conservatory and at the Homeless Families Foundation Holiday Store
– Participated in United Way of Central Ohio’s Columbus Volunteer
Challenge
– Volunteered as a team at community events such as Ohio’s Special
Olympics Polar Plunge
– Zoo staff participated in a week-long United Way Campaign and raised
more than $6,500 through raffles, special events and payroll deductions
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Cares About Our Community 2015
www.columbuszoo.org
pg. 2
Education
We make conservation education exciting; 2015 programs included:
Outreach:
– Chase Classroom Safari went to 19 Columbus City Schools and local
charter schools as well as Columbus Recreation and Parks centers and the
Dowd Center: Homeless Families Foundation, reaching more than 5,000
students
– Guest speaker at area grade school classrooms providing STEM lessons
– Presented 1,675 animal programs in the community to nearly 2,000 people
– Presented 90 free Wild Wonders programs for Franklin County schools
reaching 32,000 students
– Partners In Conservation presented information to 10,800 students in 30
local schools regarding conservation and cultures of East Central Africa.
Through this program, students are encouraged to be proactive and take
steps to assist in conservation and humanitarian projects
At the Zoo:
– Activity sponsor at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) of
Central Ohio section STEM Expo at STEM Metro School in Columbus
– Animal programing reached more than 122,000 people through its Animal
Encounters Village, Animals on Safari and other programs
– Conducted school programs for more than 20,000 children
– Conducted family programs for more than 23,000 people
– Engaged 665 visitors with behind the scenes tours
– Developed science-based curriculum projects for 78 Zoo School students
– Invited local schools and home school students to participate in Science
Day at Zoombezi Bay
– Partnered with Columbus Youth Foundation to provide 85 children and
adults the chance to partake in an educational day at the Wilds
– PNC ZooKids Seedlings engaged 120 students in the spring from six
Child Development Council of Franklin County Head Start centers. Children
participated in this program that consisted of a once a week, three-hour
class at the Columbus Zoo for four weeks. At the end of the program, a
special Zoo Day event was held for the students and their families.
– PNC ZooKids Seedlings engaged 68 students in the fall from four Child
Development Council of Franklin County Head Start classrooms. Children
participated in this program that consisted of a visit to their classsrooms
every other week for an hour class for six weeks. At the end of the
program, a special Zoo Day was held for the students and their families.
– Provided Learning is Wild scholarships to 91 central Ohio schools, which
covered up to 75 percent of the cost of their field trips to the Zoo and
reached more than 6,500 students
– Provided scholarships for 79 children to attend education programs at the
Zoo
– The Zoo library responded to 496 reference requests
Higher Education Outreach
We worked in a variety of capacities with several area universities
to provide graduate and undergraduate students with research
project opportunities and internships.
Programs included:
– Partnered with The Ohio State University:
– 19 Zoo staff members assisted with teaching a science and
management course for 20 college juniors and seniors
– Animal Care Staff provided guidance and oversight for College of
Engineering student projects
– Taught a certified interpretive guide course and provided student
tours
– Partnered with Otterbein University in their Zoo and Conservation
Science major, including internships and practicum experience for 12
students
– Training residents and veterinary students
Guided Educational Tours:
– Multiple sustainability tours for high school and university students
– Provided 23 behind the scenes tours for college groups
– Four certificates for after-hours tours were donated to non-profit
organizations in Franklin and Delaware counties
– The Mussel Facility led tours for The Adaptive Adventure Sports
Coalition, area schools, The Ohio Department of Natural Resources,
The Nature Conservancy and Metro Parks
– 65 participants in OhioHealth’s hospice program visited the Zoo for an
education program and guided tour about animal family dynamics
We also worked with:
– Bradford School
– Bowling Green State University
– Capital University
– Cedarville University
– Coastal Carolina University
– Columbus College of Art and Design
– Columbus State Community College
– ECOT
– Franklin University
– Fullerton University (California)
– Kent State University
– Kenyon College
– Miami Jacobs
– Miami University (Ohio)
– Murray State
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Cares About Our Community 2015
– Muskingum University
– Northern Michigan University
– Ohio Dominican University
– Ohio Northern University
– Ohio State University
– Ohio University
– Ohio Wesleyan University
– Otterbein University
– Rhodes State University
– University of Findlay
– University of Pittsburgh
– Urbana University
– Wittenberg University
– Wright State University
– Zane State University
www.columbuszoo.org
pg. 3
Talent Acquisition
Columbus Zoo team members visited various universities and job
fairs throughout the year, providing information about internships,
seasonal positions, year-round and volunteer opportunities with the
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
– Filled 44 year-round team member employment opportunities
– Filled over 1,500 seasonal positions
– Filled 82 internships
– Hosted five hiring events at the Zoo
– Partnered with Employment for Seniors to provide employment
opportunities for adults over the age of 50
– Partnered with Ephphatha Outreach, to provide paid volunteer
opportunities to raise money for their ministry
– Partnered with Greenleaf Job Training Services to review opportunities
for veterans, individuals with learning disabilities, those who have suffered
traumatic brain injuries, people with visual and hearing impairments, and
others who face significant barriers to employment.
– Partnered with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities to provide
seasonal job opportunities
– Partnered with REM Ohio to provide employment opportunities for
people with disabilities
– Partnered with The Ohio State University’s Transition Options in
Postsecondary Settings (TOPS) Program to employ two qualified
individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Volunteers:
– 323 adult volunteers, divers and docents volunteered 55,235 hours
– 302 teen ZooAides volunteered 20,579 hours
– Engaged 210 people who volunteered 929 hours to take down lights as
part of the Wildlights De–Lighters program
– Nine corporate organizations held their community giveback days at the
Zoo with 174 people volunteering 650 hours
Recognition:
Local Conservation Efforts
– Attended the OSU Sustainability Fair and had a table display highlighting
environmental sustainability projects at the Zoo
– Awarded the GreenSpotLight Award by the City of Columbus GreenSpot
program in recognition of our sustainability efforts
– Composted 1,379.9 tons of manure and bedding material
– Contributed to conservation of the endangered hellbender through a grant
to rear juveniles for subsequent release of hellbenders into the wild
– Diverted 144 tons of recyclable materials from landfills to a recycling
facility
– Hosted a public event at the OSU Fawcett Center with author Sy
Montgomery focused on research revealing octopuses’ remarkable
intellectual abilities
– Hosted Jungle Jack’s Conservation Cup benefitting Columbus Zoo
conservation programs
– Hosted Wine for Wildlife, benefiting area conservation programs
– Member of the Environmental Initiative Steering Committee of the Ohio
Humanities Council
– Member of the Green Venue Initiative, a committee of central Ohio venues
working to become more environmentally sustainable during their events
– Member of the MORPC Organics Diversion Sub-Committee
– Partnered with Glacier Ridge Elementary School in Dublin for their annual
Tiger Trot fundraising event for the Siberian Tiger Project in the Russian Far
East
– Participated in the O’Shaughnessy Circle of the National Audubon Christmas
Bird Count
– Participate in the Ohio Environmental Leaders Institute, organized by Ohio
State University
– Participated in TREE, a collaborative organization that includes COSI, Metro
Parks and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources
– Raised over $279,000 through the in-park fundraising campaign, Pass the
Hat for Animals, including a generous $53,000 match from Fifth Third Bank
– Safari Golf Club became a Certified Monarch Waystation Facility
– Served as a consultant to the Chilly Open, in conjunction with Westerville
Rotary benefiting several children’s charities, to make it a zero-waste event
– Supported the efforts of the Ohio Wildlife Center (OWC) for the rescue,
rehabilitation and release of native Ohio wildlife
– Chosen as Workforce Management’s Gold-level Optimas Award Winner
for Recruiting.
Job/Career Fairs:
The Zoo partnered with schools and community organizations to provide
employment opportunities at job fairs including:
– The Arnold Classic
– Ohio Northern University Job Fair
–The Ohio State University:
– Blue Jackets Career Fair
– Bowling Green State University
- Congressman Steve Stiver’s Job Fair
Summer Career Fair
- Food and Agriculture Career Expo
- Spring Career Fair
– Career Fest at Aladdin Shrine Center
– COWIC S.O.A.R Job Fair
- Student Athletes Job Fair
– Dublin Irish Day Parade
- Student Union Career Fair
– Dublin Works Job Fair
– Ohio Wesleyan University Intern
– ECOT College and Career Fair
and Summer Job Fair
– Empowerment Day Resource & Job – Otterbein University Career Fair
– Ohio Business Leadership Network
Fair
– FOCUS Learning Job Fairs
Job Fair
– Job Fairs of Columbus
– Recruited at eight area high schools
– Lao Volunteer Donation Job Fair
– Wittenberg Spring Job Fair
please recycle
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Updated: 3/9/16
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Cares About Our Community 2015
www.columbuszoo.org
pg. 4