The Community Foundation hosted a visit to the Louisville Zoo on May 25 for some local future philanthropists. Five families signed up to participate, and each family was allotted $100 from the Community Foundation for their kids to give to the Zoo. They got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Zoo and learned about three programs: general care and feeding of the animals, educational programs for school kids, and the new Glacier Run Exhibit. After the tour, the kids decided – with adult assistance – which program(s) they wanted their $100 grant to support.
(Scroll down to see photos from the day)
Zoo Director John Walczak took the kids “back-stage” at the Islands Exhibit. The zoo keepers showed them a tapir and babirusa up close, and the kids heard the loud and exotic call of a siamang. They also witnessed a Sumatran tiger having a snack! The kids learned it costs a lot to feed the animals – the Zoo’s food bill is over $400,000 each year.
Education Curator Marcelle Gianelloni explained the Zoo’s many educational efforts, including a program in which students immerse themselves in the Zoo’s “living classroom” for an entire week of lessons devoted to science. Two animal ambassadors were the highlight of day, when the kids got to touch a bearded dragon and a chinchilla.
The last stop on the tour was the under-construction Glacier Run Exhibit. Walczak explained the research and sensitivity that goes into the design of every Zoo exhibit, and Glacier Run is no exception. This $26 million project is designed to immerse the visitor in a fictitious town that is modeled after Churchill, Manitoba, in northern Canada, the “polar bear capital of the world,” where people and polar bears share a community.
The kids, who ranged in age from seven to 12 years old, made some tough and thoughtful decisions. In the end, the Zoo received a grant of $500 divided between feeding the animals ($145), Glacier Run ($36), educational programming ($86), and unrestricted money to use as the Zoo sees fit ($133). Additionally, one child wanted to support something important to his Zoo experience – the Zoo keys ($100).
You can easily partner with the Community Foundation to introduce charitable giving to your own future philanthropist. You can also try “kitchen table philanthropy” at home. The concept is simple: you allocate a small sum of money for your children (or grandchildren) to donate to a charitable cause. The kids then research the causes that are of interest to them (with your help!), and then visit two or three nonprofit organizations to determine if they are worthy of support. You then return to the kitchen table to discuss how much to give to each cause.
If you want to be informed of other Future Philanthropists nonprofit tours through the Community Foundation, or if you’d like more information on starting your own kitchen table philanthropy, please email us or call 502.585.4649.
