Thanks to an outpouring of community and corporate support, Zoobilee 2004: Feast with the Beasts, the Rhode Island Zoological Society’s annual fundraiser, raised over $370,000 for Roger Williams Park Zoo education and conservation programs.
“With the success of this year’s event, Zoobilee has raised more than $2 million for Roger Williams Park Zoo over the past 12 years. We have the continued generosity and enthusiasm of our participating restaurants, caterers, sponsors and partygoers to thank for that,” Said Jack Mulvena, Executive Director of the Zoological Society and Director of Roger Williams Park Zoo.
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Zoobilee 2004 net proceeds will, through the Rhode Island Zoological Society, directly support the zoo’s education programs for children and its efforts to help save threatened and endangered species around the world (and in our own backyard) through conservation, public awareness and research. Founded in 1962, the Rhode Island Zoological Society strives to obtain the public and private sector support needed to enhance the zoo and maintain its international reputation for conservation and education efforts.
Roger Williams Park Zoo, the nation’s third oldest zoo, is supported by the Rhode Island Zoological Society and is operated by the City of Providence.
The event, held on Saturday June 26, featured about 40 of the area’s best restaurants and caterers.
Guests spent the entire evening roaming the 40-acre zoo and grazing on specialty food and drink items and enjoying entertainment for the party.
This year’s co-chairs, Robert F. Stoico, Chairman, President and CEO of FIRSTFED and John J. Bowen, President, Johnson & Wales University, Providence Campus, led a Zoobilee committee that included over 50 community leaders. Together, committee members turned out a sponsorship list of 215 corporate and individual sponsors who contributed between $500 and $15,000 each. It was a gift of $10,000 from the Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED Charitable Foundation that pushed this year’s proceeds to its record-setting amount.
Zoobilee 2004 organizers also held a silent auction, which featured over 85 unique items including exclusive wildlife encounters, animal artwork, weekend getaways, Rhode Island treasures and the chance to serve as “Zoo Apprentice” at the zoo’s summer-long live show, Masters of the Sky.
