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Chapter News - July 2008
Sedgwick County Zoo AAZK Goes Hi-Tech With Their BFR Event
By Danelle Teetzen, Sedgwick County AAZK Chapter Secretary/Zoo Volunteer, Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, KS
The Sedgwick County Zoo AAZK Chapter's "Bowling for Rhinos" event was held on 14 April 2008 and was a huge success! We decided to put a new spin on the traditional BFR since interest in the event had waned over the past few years. Instead of holding it at a bowling alley, we set up two Wii® video game stations in the zoo education building and did Wii® bowling!
We raised nearly $2,400 in pledges and charged $5 at the door to cover the cost of pizza and prize expenses. Each person who raised $25 (or donated it themself) could bowl. We also had our very own Horticulture Band play and provide entertainment. Between songs, we awarded door prizes and other prizes to the highest fundraiser, highest and lowest bowling score, most entertaining bowler, etc. Some of our prizes included rhino paintings, certificates for a “Meet-and-Greet” with the rhinos, a rhino stuffed animal made out of an old keeper uniform, a “green” bag full of “green” products, gas cards and restaurant gift certificates. We also designed a T-shirt for the event and sold many of those as well.
We had 43 people attend the event, a huge improvement over last year’s five! This has definitely revitalized our BFR event. All told, it was a lot of fun and the best turnout ever. Plans are already in the works to make next year’s event even better. “Together Wii® can save the Rhinos”!!
The next event our Chapter is planning is a dog party at a local dog park. Many keepers have dogs and had been wanting to get them together for a play day, so we arranged to use the dog park free of charge. We are going to charge $5 per dog and hope to raise quite a bit of money and have a great time too!
Caption: One of our rhino keepers tries his luck at Wii® bowling
(Photo by Danelle Teetzen)
Milwaukee County Zoo AAZK Chapter
Our Chapter is having a very busy year! It started with annual elections, when the following officers were elected:
Mike Frayer – President
Mark Scheuber – Vice President
Stacy Whitaker – Secretary
Joan Pappas – Treasurer
Dawn Fleuchaus – Liaison
We are proud to be working with AAZK-National and Polar Bears International to promote the Year of the Polar Bear! All AAZK-Milwaukee Chapter events for 2008, will focus on Polar Bears and arctic climate change issues. We plan to have an educational booth at all zoo events featuring a polar bear pelt, ear tag, replica skull and claw, and green tools to help spread energy saving ideas. We have also teamed up with Wisconsin’s DNR to help promote their tree planting program to get 20 million trees planted by 2020.
So far we have held our annual Valentine’s Day bake sale, raising money for bear conservation projects. We manned an educational booth at MCZ’s Party for the Planet. We also hosted a free public lecture by PBI president, Robert Buchanan that was attended by over 100 guests. During his visit, Mr. Buchanan also gave a lunchtime lecture for the zoo’s animal department. Our most recent event was our Conservation Weekend booth where grab bags were sold to raise $$ for bear conservation. Education materials and Polar Bear items helped visitors to connect with MCZ’s Polar Bears (Zero and Snow Lilly) and the plight of their wild counterparts.
Zoo Pride volunteers have begun a daily Polar Bear cart in conjunction with zookeepers’ Animals-in Action talks on Harbor Seals and Polar Bears. Future events include Polar Bear zookeeper talks at local schools and nature centers, Pizza dinner and silent auction, Bear Awareness Day (Oct. 4), and a Polar Bear birthday party in December!
Lastly, we will select a local teen to attend PBI’s Leadership Camp in Churchill, in October. The applicants represent some of the best of Milwaukee’s teens and the choice will be difficult. At PBI’s Leadership Camp, the chosen teen will gain knowledge and skills to become an advocate for Polar Bears in our community.
Hopefully we can continue our commitment to promote Polar Bear conservation in the years to come. All of us are striving to adopt more conservation-minded practices in our day-to-day lives and hope all of AAZK will do the same. Remember it’s not too late and each of us can make a difference. Spread the word!
Our “non-bear” event this year, Bowling for Rhinos, was held May 15th. Funds raised will again help to support the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (LWC)!
---Dawn Fleuchaus – Liaison
What's your Chapter been up to? Let us know about your successful fundraisers, guest speakers, conservation projects, new officers, new logos, etc. We want to hear from you!
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