Published: July 10, 2009 10:49 pm      

7-11 Community your news

OKC Zoo thanks taxpayers with annual free day



The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden will grant free admission to all visitors on July 17 to celebrate the 1/8 of a cent sales tax passed by the residents of Oklahoma City to support the zoo.

The sales tax, passed in 1990, has lead to numerous improvements in the zoo in the past 19 years. The Great EscApe, Cat Forest/Lion Overlook and Oklahoma Trails exhibits are all major additions funded by the sales tax. These remarkable exhibits meet the zoo’s promise to taxpayers to focus on the ABC’s of the animal kingdom — apes, bears and cats.

A new Children’s Zoo, will open in 2010. It is a place where children can explore, touch and immerse themselves in a natural environment that will stimulate their imagination, encourage exploration and give them a greater appreciation for nature.

Located at Northeast 52nd and Martin Luther King Boulevard, zoo hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily during Morning Zoo Rise from July 1 to Aug. 16. Through September, the zoo will remain open until 8 p.m. Saturdays with exhibit buildings closing at 7:45 p.m. Standard admission is $7 for adults and $4 for children ages 3 to 11 and seniors ages 65 and older. Children 2 and under are free. For more information, call 424-3344 or visit www.okczoo.com.



Annual Klothes for Kids Back-to-School Drive kicks off in August

In 2008 more than 800 children were provided a new outfit, backpack and school supplies at Citizens Caring for Children’s Klothes for Kids annual back-to-school clothing and school supply drive. Even more are expected to need assistance this year.

Klothes for Kids, sponsored by Citizens Caring for Children and the Jr. League of Oklahoma City, will run Aug. 4 through Aug. 27. The drive takes place at the Citizens Caring for Children Resource Center, at 45 N.E. 50th in Oklahoma City, and is open every Tuesday and Thursday during the month of August. Foster children can “shop” for a new outfit, shoes, a backpack and school supplies. For many of these children, it is their only new outfit.

Now in its 25th year, Citizens Caring for Children was founded by foster parents Rose and the late George Harper, and has grown to provide services for more than 3,000 Oklahoma Foster Children annually through five programs including Shelter Birthday Parties, Klothes for Kids, Santa Stop, the Resource Center and mentoring.

Volunteer shifts for Klothes for Kids are available and donations of new clothing are always welcome. To volunteer or to make a donation, call 348-9034, e-mail amitchell@citizenscaringforchildren.org or visit www.citizenscaringforchildren.org.



Quail Springs Mall offers Summer Reunion Blood Drive July 18

Quail Springs Mall will partner with Oklahoma Blood Institute July 18 for a blood drive. All healthy Oklahoma City and Edmond-area residents, age 17 and older, are encouraged to participate from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Quail Springs Mall, 2501 W. Memorial Road.

All donors will receive two tickets to the Oklahoma City Zoo and a free T-shirt, along with free health screenings and Members for Life points to redeem at OBI’s online store.

All donors will have the opportunity to forgo receiving a donor T-shirt in favor of Oklahoma Blood Institute making a financial contribution of similar value to American Cancer Society.

Donations can be made every 56 days, and OBI provides every drop of blood used by most hospitals statewide.

For more information or to make an appointment to donate in Quail Springs Mall blood drive, call Andrea Tanner at 755-6530, ext. 28.

www.obi.org to see a list of blood drives and donor centers in your area.