SUBMITTED TO DORCHESTER BANNER/JUST ZOO IT
Pictured are students from Ms. Carels’ 2nd Grade class at South Dorchester Elementary School in Church Creek. Their class raised the most money out of all the elementary classrooms in Dorchester County and earned a VIP field trip to the Salisbury Zoo in May of this year.[/caption] SALISBURY — Students from four counties will be out raising money to support improvements to the Bison Exhibit at the Salisbury Zoo. They are part of the Delmarva Zoological Society’s Just Zoo It! campaign to raise money for capital improvement projects at the Salisbury Zoo. This is the eighth year for Just Zoo It! which has raised more than $210,000 in nickels, dimes and quarters for DZS. All the money raised goes to help Renew the Zoo. The William E. Morgan Conservation Center received exhibit funding over this past year thanks to the Just Zoo It! campaign in 2017. DZS has partnered with area schools to distribute the specially-made Just Zoo It cans which were donated by Pepsi Bottling Ventures in Salisbury. The staff at Lower Shore Enterprises helped wrap the cans with the Just Zoo It labels. “Seeing how much students all over the Delmarva Peninsula love the Zoo helps motivate us to work even harder to make sure we have an outstanding Zoo in our community,” said DZS Board Chair Ashley Bosche. “We know how special the Zoo is and it’s gratifying to see it reflected in the excitement every year of these students who want to do something to give back.” The class that raises the most money from each county will be rewarded with a special all-expense paid trip to the Zoo this spring, including a pizza party, t-shirts, and a stuffed animal to take home. They also get to meet Zookeepers and interact with some of the animals during a special tour. In addition, a random participating class will also win an all-expense paid trip to the Zoo. This year the class that raises the most overall from all four counties will also get a VIP tour which includes interactions with several new species of animals at the zoo and learn what it means to be a Zookeeper. Filled cans will be returned to each child’s classroom for credit for that class in November. Filled cans can also be dropped off at any First Shore Federal location. The Delmarva Zoological Society, Inc. is the 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that was created to raise funds for the Salisbury Zoo. To learn more about Just Zoo It or DZS, go to salisburyzoo.org.