Animal-enthusiasts honor the next generation at the Philadelphia Zoo’s Global Conservation Award gala

    Brought to you by Freemans Auctioneers, The Circuit, with Caroline Stewart, takes you to the he Westin Philadelphia Hotel for the Philadelphia Zoo’s third Global Conservation Gala. Become a regular of our new blog to keep up with the hottest philanthropic events.

    Dewey the Spectacled Owl, Bo the green winged Macaw, and Tom the tortoise, were all in attendance at the Philadelphia Zoo’s third Global Conservation Gala, held Nov. 1 at the Westin Philadelphia Hotel.

    Among the 350 guests were emcee Maria Menounos, cohost of NBC’s “Extra,” gala co-chairs Gretchen and Stephen Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal, and Susan and Robert Burch.

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    The Emerging Conservation Leader Award was presented to Girl Scouts Rhiannon Tomitshen and Madison Vorva, who are working to bring awareness to endangered orangutans. When they discovered that the orangutans’ habitat was being destroyed due to the harvest of palm oil plantations and that palm oil was used in Girl Scout cookies, they launched Project O.R.A.N.G.S., to make Girl Scout cookies orangutan-friendly.

    Honored on behalf of the Hamilton family, Matt Hamilton received the Conservation Impact Award, in recognition of the family’s commitment to educating children about the natural world. The Zoo’s new KidZooU: Hamilton Family Children’s Zoo & Faris Family Education Center is set to open in April, 2013.

    The Zoo Crew (Zoo Champions for Restoring Endangered Wildlife), a new three-year youth program that was officially launched at the gala, won The Global Conservation Prize. The award will go toward the Zoo CREW Scholarship Fund, which will award Zoo Crew graduates with $5,000 toward their college career.

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