Habitat 39 Winter 2015

2 | December 2014/January/February 2015 H ABITAT Celebrating and Saving Wildlife T h e M a g a z i n e o f t h e D e t r o i t Z o o l o g i c a l S o c i e t y Habitat is produced quarterly for Members of the Detroit Zoological Society. EDITED BY Graphinity, Inc. CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jennifer Thomas PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT ArborOakland Group GRAPHIC DESIGN Graphinity, Inc. Copyright © 2014 Detroit Zoological Society All rights reserved. PLEASE CONTACT: Detroit Zoological Society 8450 W. 10 Mile Road Royal Oak, MI 48067 Phone: (248) 541-5717 Fax: (248) 541-2489 www.detroitzoo.org For questions about membership, please contact: info@dzs.org. facebook.com/detroitzoo youtube.com/detroitzoo twitter.com/detroitzoo instagram.com/detroitzoo The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo. Printed in the USA. The Detroit Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Throughout the year, you are asked to support your Detroit Zoo by donating to the Detroit Zoo Fund, renewing and giving gift memberships, joining the Renaissance Circle, purchasing a Zoo Experience or making a tribute gift. During this season of giving, it is important for you to know the myriad ways the Zoo lends a hand to others. Winston Churchill famously said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” The Zoo makes a living through admissions, memberships, events, concessions, rides and attractions, millage support from tri-county residents and the philanthropy of our generous donors. We make a life by helping causes that advance our mission of Celebrating and Saving Wildlife and by giving back to those in the community whose needs are great. The cover story about the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center details our involvement in a collaborative effort to save the highly endangered Grauer’s gorilla while helping the community near the gorillas’ habitat. What it doesn’t mention is that the Zoo helped raise more than $50,000 toward the GRACE project, which executive director and CEO Ron Kagan (who serves on the organization’s board of directors) describes as the most exciting, unique and promising conservation, welfare and humane education initiative we’ve ever been involved with. You also may have heard about the online vote-by-donation opportunity to name the male giraffe calf born in late September. Raising money for the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) by letting our community choose the calf’s name – Mpenzi – was another great way to deliver on our mission. In addition to the community’s gift to the GCF of $1,141, the DZS provided a conservation grant of $5,000 to help save giraffes in the wild. Recently, hundreds of plush animals purchased by Detroit Zoo guests and DZS staff at Zoofari Market were donated to Beaumont Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Michigan DMC for distribution to pediatric patients. In addition, employees donate generously to our annual Toys for Tots campaign, and they give of themselves – literally – through twice-annual American Red Cross blood drives. The Detroit Zoo also conducts donation drives twice a year to gather clothing and household goods for The Salvation Army, and we collect more than 9,000 pounds of food at the annual Bunnyville event to be donated to Gleaner’s Community Food Bank. Each year, we distribute free tickets to more than 1,500 local nonprofits and host for free thousands of seniors, veterans and underserved youth. In addition, we offer outreach programs to more than 8,500 students otherwise unable to access the Zoo. As the holiday season gets into full swing, may we all come together in the spirit of giving and celebrate our own bounty by helping those less fortunate. As always, we thank you for your steadfast support and wish you and yours happiness and prosperity that lasts throughout the New Year. From the Chairman Gail Warden Chairman, Detroit Zoological Society