Genesis Wildlife Center - fund raising letter templates (Scranton, Harrisburg: amusement parks, house)

[scrantonluna]

I promised to post some ideas on how to raise funds for the Genesis Wildlife Sanctuary, so here's what I've been working on. I'm attaching letter templates, which you can change if you feel the need, so we can start drawing attention to the center. For example, you can chose to send them to each council member, or just to the council president; some are 'generic,' listing only the council president and will need a few simple changes to send to other members individually. The letter for Sen. Casey can easily be changed and used for Cong. Kanjorski, R. Smith, etc. To help I will also post some addresses.

I know some have expressed trepidation about raising money for the center, but I truly think that getting the word out, and money in, is the first step. We can all be critical later on if we want, but if officials feel they are getting a 'mixed bag' by helping the center they will most likely not make it a priority. Once awareness is raised, we can ask the city to consider bringing in an expert in animal care and facility design to determine what changes can be made short term to improve the center, and what can be done long-term, such as my idea of building a completely new center off of Elmhurst Blvd.

You may ask what you can do to help. For starters, print out and send these letters. It's all about numbers. Secondly, there is a list of needed donations on the Genesis website; garden hoses, paper towels, etc. Project List You can donate some of these yourself, or ask your child's teachers to start a drive at their school. You can also take up a collection at your place of work to sponsor an animal, and make it an annual happening. Older students may wish to volunteer at the center as part of a civic class or senior project. I think we'll see the most help from the teachers on this one, and probably Bob Casey with an earmark if we're lucky. I want to make this the 'idea post,' so this is the place to discuss it if you think it will help. POSITIVE IDEAS ONLY please, or I will ask the site to remove your comment. Go nay-say on the original post if you must. Also, the last thing we want is PETA picketers, so please, let's start this positive and keep this positive.

This is the start, please don't spare the stamps, and let's get this rolling.



Addresses:
Congressman Paul Kanjorski
2188 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3811

Representative Ken Smith
Room 28B East Wing
PO Box 202112
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2112

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

[alexander_helj]

You would take the animals completely out of Nay Aug?

Also, do you think a new center could be built now in the Scranton area? I believe it is widely known that Scranton is, even more than many medium-sized cities, in dire fiscal shape. Huge needs with an increasingly elderly population as the national economic picture is not rosy, I would think, might cause people to just try to maintain or modestly improve what they have.

[scrantonluna]

Originally Posted by alexander_helj

You would take the animals completely out of Nay Aug?

Also, do you think a new center could be built now in the Scranton area? I believe it is widely known that Scranton is, even more than many medium-sized cities, in dire fiscal shape. Huge needs with an increasingly elderly population as the national economic picture is not rosy, I would think, might cause people to just try to maintain or modestly improve what they have.

The ideal setup, I believe, would be to build a new center on the other side of the park, between I-81 and Elmhurst Blvd. This land actually did belong to the park at one time, but I think it may be in the hands of the redevelopment authority. Anyway, the land is unused and perfect for an animal sanctuary. The old zoo could still be used as a display area, holding animals for short periods of time, and making them available for educational viewing.

Now, you may say, how often do we get the 'ideal setup,' and that would be true. The purpose to the letters is to get a federal or state grant to make improvements, similar to what has just been passed by President Bush, in which the area received millions in earmarks for various projects (81 widening, medical school, expansion of the trolley line, planning of the hoboken train, etc.). Short term, it would be nice to get a smaller grant to expand and update the center modestly, and it would also be a good thing if some people were to sponsor an animal there for the year or if a few 5th graders would donate some much needed supplies.

[weluvpa]

Honestly given the current and former city gov'ts handling of the new and old zoo here in the city I think that it would best for the animals if they were relocated to area or a city that would and could build and maintain financially a structure and facility to provide the best care and life that animals in captivity can get. They didn't ask to end up where they are and they cannot do anything to help themselves. This city is a fiscal trainwreck and everyone knows that so to assume that the city would and could build a new facility on any land here is a far reaching dream.
1. We cannot afford it. We could not afford to build it and we certainly cannot afford to maintain it correctly for the animals.
2. The city cannot carry that kind of a yearly expediture in a budget for the parks and rec dept and maintain our parks as well.
3. Its not fair to the animals to have to rely on a ditressed and fiscally drained municipality for their quality of life. I have watched these threads since I started the other one and everyone has ideas and the best interest of the animals at heart and thats what is important here. So in the best interest of the animals I think that GWS at Nay Aug should be moved to a city or area other than scranton that can take care of them the way they deserve to be cared for.

[scrantonluna]

Genesis is independant of the city; now I know what you're going to say, they can't be independant if they get 50 grand every year from the budget, but I believe that Doherty wanted the zoo back up and running and did whatever he had to in order to make it happen. But the fact remains, if they get the money, it's theirs. They are obviously in contact with other institutions, as evidence of the alligators being moved. There's nothing that says Genesis might not link up with other sanctuarys and pool resources sometime down the road, and they might seriously consider it with a parcel of land from the redevelopment authority and a chunk from uncle sam. Hell, it's probably going to go nowhere, but if all it takes is a few letters, what's the harm? I'd venture it's a better chance than playing the powerball.

[weluvpa]

I would love to see it up and running on fed funds that would be great. As far as the $50,000 its budgeted or at least it was last winter but when the pipes froze and the water was being brought in by hand they had not yet recieved the money from the city. They cannot and should not rely on this city for anything. Yes the mayor did what he had to do to get the zoo back but I think it should of been left alone, closed. It was a PR campaign pure and simple. Nay Aug is the only thing that he can say that he actually did. Nothing has been done right in that park, nothing. The treehouse had to be redesigned half way thru because the anchors for the cables were wrong, the bridge had to be redesigned by the state because the mayors firm botched it. There was $180,000 spent on repairs that were never done for the greenhouse, the handicap bathroom still isn't done, the fence around the rose garden was paid for and never put up, the fish pond can only maintain bacteria. That park is a joke compared to what it was like when the city actually gave a crap about it.

[NYRangers 2008]

I don't see Nay Aug being the crown jewel of Scranton, like Central Park is to Manhattan. And that's the only thing in the city that Doherty can say that he actually did something with. Did something wrong that is.

[scrantonluna]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

. That park is a joke compared to what it was like when the city actually gave a crap about it.

See, that's your problem. It's not about the city. It was NEVER about the city. The park is a joke because THE PEOPLE OF SCRANTON don't care about it. If you wait for the MAYOR to make your life and your city better, you'll be waiting a long, long time.

[mbs7]

Okay, now I do have something (mostly) positive to say, so I will post here. I agree with you, Scrantonluna, when you say that waiting for the mayor to make the city better is a mistake--that if the people want change they have to be involved. And I don't mean that as a slur against the current mayor--the same would hold true for any administration. When you get right down do it, the people have to be involved. I can't think of any positive changes anywhere that were a result of public apathy.

NYRangers2008--I actually think that, in many respects, Nay Aug Park IS the crown jewel of the city. It is really, I think, quite a large park for a city the size of Scranton. Is the park perfect? No. Is it much better than it was back in the 60s and 70s when I was growing up in Scranton? Yes. At least as far as I'm concerned. Back then the only thing that the park had going for it was the new (at the time) swimming complex, which was really great. My friends and I spent tons of time there, getting tons of exercise (we went early in the day, before the pool got crowded, so that we could swim laps). Some of the very best memories I have of my teen years are of the hours spent at that pool complex (which was, I will add, a huge improvement over the old "Lake Lincoln" that preceded it). Some of the picnic areas were okay too. As for the rest of the park...well, the zoo was also very sad at that time. And the walking paths in the woods were always in poor repair and full of litter. The museum wasn't bad, but the pool in front of it was a real horror most of the time--sometimes it was drained and other times it contained some swans swimming around in dirty-looking water that was full of floating litter. I always felt sorry for those swans. The amusement park area wasn't bad, but let's face it, as amusement parks go it, too, was a bit sad. Not to mention full of litter.

Even though the new bridge and treehouse and observation platforms may not be perfect in every way, I think they are a big improvement. And the walking paths in the woods seemed pretty nice to me, at least when we were there last summer. If we had had all that when we were kids we would have been thrilled! My friends and I used to walk along run-down paths and dream about how nice it would be to have them fixed up. (Looking back now, I think we should have done more about it than just dreaming.) I also like the koi pond over by the museum. (Someone mentioned problems with bacteria? That's a story I haven't followed--all I can say is that the day I was there everything looked fine.) The gardens look good too. (In my day they were always a mess.) The one thing that stands out as being terrible is the old zoo. In fact, visiting it pretty much ruined what was otherwise a very nice afternoon. So the good news, I think, is that real change for the better can and has occurred. The bad news is that there is still more work to be done, especially at the zoo. Change for the better is not impossible; Nay Aug, I think, is proof of that.

[scrantonluna]

Well, you can, and no doubt will, do what you want, there's nothing I can do about that. As for me, I sent out the first string of letters today, and I even sent a personalized one to the 'Newman's Own' Foundation, after reading about their generosity on a bag of carrots. Amounts to 'urinitaing in the wind' if I do it alone, though.