Helen Woodward Animal Center Begins Construction on New Humane Education Village…
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (Sept. 18, 2023) – After a 20-year wait, the third phase in the Campaign for Caring is coming to fruition – Helen Woodward Animal Center is excited to announce the groundbreaking of its new Humane Education Village. The construction of this state-of-the-art facility not only expands the Center’s ability to welcome even more young animal lovers, it honors the vision of founder Helen Woodward who felt that children were the only true path to making the world a more humane place. Next Wednesday, an official groundbreaking ceremony will be held for Center staff, supporters, board members and friends. The media is invited to attend the private groundbreaking ceremony to help celebrate the Center’s exciting step forward. Please join us, Wednesday, September 20th @ 1:00 PM in the education yard (signs will be posted).
Since its founding, Helen Woodward Animal Center has made humane education an integral part of its mission. Through games, art, songs, and one-on-one interactions with over 30 different animal species, and more than 60 individual animal ambassadors, the lessons are dedicated to fostering compassion for all creatures in the hearts of children ages 4 to 14. Helen Woodward herself insisted upon educational programming as a prime component of the Center, believing that children held the key to making the world a better one. Today, Helen Woodward’s focus on instilling appreciation for each living thing touches the lives of over 13,000 children every year.
The construction of the new building marks the third phase in the Campaign for Caring – a multi-year mission to rebuild Helen Woodward Animal Center’s aging facilities, many of which have been in place since the organization’s founding in 1972.
Over the past 50 years, Helen Woodward Animal Center’s humane education programs have been run out of a small wooden house built in the 1950s, several temporary trailers and trailer classrooms, a yard area, a number of outdoor animal enclosures and an outside pavilion that was subject to environmental conditions such as annual flooding. The years of happy memories created in these makeshift lesson spaces have been invaluable but the need for more secure accommodations has been made evident with every heatwave and rainstorm and the ever-increasing number of students and animal ambassadors.
Plans for the new Humane Education Village include many exciting expansions including two buildings totaling 10,500 square feet housing both the Humane Education programs, as well as all of the Pet Encounter Therapy staff, animals and programs; 6 Themed Classrooms – such as a Desert Room, a Jungle/Woodland Room, an Ocean Room, a Tundra Room, and an Urban Pets Room; 2 Outdoor Playgrounds with a variety of play accessibility; 2 Birthday Rooms; 2 Outdoor Presentation Areas; 1 Outdoor Animal Enrichment Area; 5 Outdoor Animal Enclosures; 1 Animal Prep Room; 2 Animal Holding Pens; and 1 Kitchen for Animal Food prep.
“We are incredibly excited to begin this next phase for the Center,” stated Helen Woodward Animal Center VP of Development Renee Resko. “I’d like to think that Helen Woodward is smiling down at us. She was certain that children were the key to changing the way animals are treated. By teaching compassion to those who are still open to the wonder and beauty in every living thing, she felt we could make the world a more beautiful place. As we expand our education program with this new building we also expand our ability to reach more children and help bring Helen’s vision to life.”
During construction, Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Humane Education programs will continue. For more information on available humane education programs, click onto www.animalcenter.org.
Please join us Wednesday, September 20th @ 1:00 PM as we break ground and start the next chapter in the life-changing work done by Helen Woodward Animal Center!
CEREMONY: 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM (Actual ceremony begins @ approximately 1:30 PM)
MEDIA PLEASE RSVP:
MEDIA CONTACTS:
PR Director Jessica Gercke [email protected], cell: 619-977-0999
******
About Helen Woodward Animal Center
Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where “people help animals and animals help people.” Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 90,000 people and more than 10,000 animals annually through adoptions, educational and therapeutic programs both onsite and throughout the community. Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the International Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive, the International Remember Me Thursday® campaign and The Business of Saving Lives Workshops, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world. For more information, go to: https://animalcenter.org/
