Jacksonville Nonprofits and Charities

My experience with the Jacksonville Zoological Society goes back 70 years.<br>The Zoo property, located on the Trout River, was purchased from my family in 1924-35<br>having been moved from the smaller area in Springfield ten year earlier (1914).<br><br>Since I lived just across Main Street from the Zoo, (my family's property shared a shore<br>line with the Zoo,) it was a place that was like a second home to me. I was indeed<br>a frequent visitor. During those early years, you could drive your car along the path<br>in the zoo so even during bad weather, my parents would take us for a "drive through" if we couldn't walk the path. There wasn't a week that went by that I didn't interact with the animals at the Zoo but Miss Chick was my very favorite. She was our first elephant and was only three years old when she come to our Zoo from a Zoo in Hamburg, Germany.<br>I was fortunate enough to be able to pet her trunk while feeding her peanuts and talked to her as if she was a treasured friend. <br>Living so close to the Zoo, an occasional animal would escape and come onto our property. One late afternoon, when my Dad and brother were coming home and driving behind our house on our property, my brother commented, " Hey Dad, there's a zebra!", to which my Dad replied, "Not my problem", and promptly call the Zoo to report the missing animal.<br>Another time, a bad storm caused several spider monkeys to decide to "jump ship" off the "monkey island" and make their way to our property and the big trees where we had swings.. We fed them and they watched us swing on our rope swings until the Zoo keeper came to collect them. We were happy that the big cats couldn't find their way out of their enclosures.<br><br>My 70 year passion for all that is the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has not stopped. <br>Currently, our Broward Point Preservation non profit is attempting to purchase another 113 acres of Broward Property that can be used to expand their Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Programs, making our Zoo the "JEWEL IN THE CROWN" of manatee rescue programs in Florida. We are one of 5 manatee rescue programs in the state but need to expand our program in order to help these gentle mammals survive as their habitats are being destroyed due to massive development in our area.<br>Any one interested in assisting in this effort is urged to go onto our website and read about how we intend to accomplish this mission.<br>Sincerely,<br>Dorothy Parker Gillette<br>226 Broward Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32218<br>gtrmom00@aol.com<br>http://browardpointpreserve.com