Wal-Mart comes through for LV Zoo

The Las Vegas Zoo usually draws a younger crowd than the group of adults that gathered there this morning.

With a family of wallabies looking on curiously, two dozen employees and managers from local Wal-Mart stores assembled to present a check for $10,000 to zoo manager Pat Dingle.

Wal-Mart market manager Sean Evans read a recent column on plans to improve the zoo and decided to help. In tandem with fellow market manager Catherine Siefert, Evans collected $10,000 on behalf of the employees at the 10 Wal-Marts they manage.

Evans said it had been several years since he’d visited the zoo with his children, but appreciates its place in the local community. Siefert praised the zoo’s educational component.

Dingle, who operates on a shoestring without government funding, said the money will come in handy as the zoo embarks on its expansion plans.

“It’s very heart-felt and appreciated,” he said. “This represents thousands of Walmart associates and what they do in the community.”

Even the wallabies seemed pleased.

Photo by Cherie DeWilde

Jeannie Atkins, animal care manager at the Las Vegas Zoo, shows off a rare Madagascan fossa Thursday to visitors from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart managers and associates made a $10,000 donation to the zoo on Rancho Drive near Vegas Drive.
Photo by Gary Thompson/Las Vegas Review-Journal.