Winter Happenings
Events and How to Get Involved
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An evening to RAY-member! |
We made a splash at our third annual Gala on Friday, November 10th! At this carnival by the sea inspired event, guests enjoyed multiple different food stations, drinks, and roaming entertainment, like an instant poet, juggler, fortune teller, and caricature artist.
Thank you to our FIN-tastic guests for a wonderful and successful evening. Because of your generosity, we raised almost $350,000 to fund our H2O Friends program, which provides free access to the St. Louis Aquarium, along with STEM-based conservation and aquatic life education for youth from Title 1 schools and underserved community partners.
A special thank you to our co-chairs Stephanie and Alex Lee and Rebecca and John Sheehan, along with our honorary co-chairs Bob and Steve O'Loughlin. This event also could not have been possible without our 42 sponsors, 43 in-kind donors, and amazing volunteers!
Thank you for making a difference and helping to provide access and inspiration for a future generation of potential biologists, conservationists, and educators!
Click below to view more pictures from Splash Bash!
As our third annual Gala comes to a close, save the date for next year's Gala on Friday, November 8th, 2024! We at the Foundation are already looking forward to this exciting and fun-filled night and we hope you are too!
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Swing Fore the Seas - A Young Professionals Board Event |
WATER you doing on Thursday, April 25th, 2024? Save the date for the St. Louis Aquarium Foundation's Topgolf event, hosted by our Young Professionals Board. Swing Fore the Seas offers a variety of golfing and non-golfing sponsorships to help support the Foundation's mission of providing STEM-based education and conservation programs to Title I schools and other under-resourced communities. Join us at Topgolf Midtown St. Louis for 3 hours of great food, drinks, and competitive tournament play. This is a great opportunity for a company team-building event, entertaining clients, or just getting together with friends! |
The Aquarium Foundation is excited to announce our continuation of Camp Fins & Friends! Kids ages 7 through 12 are invited to join us throughout the summer to enjoy this amazing summer camp! With the choice of five different themes across ten weeks of programming, campers will learn all about the animals and plants we share our planet with through games, conservation projects, animal experiences, and more! Mark your calendars for the first week of February when registration opens!
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Last year, we welcomed 188 kids ages 5 to 10 to our Camp Fins & Friends summer camp, 18 of whom were able to attend for free through our H2O Friends Fund! The Foundation is excited to continue inspiring future conservationists, educators, and scientists through our 2024 camp sessions. As we prepare for this year's fun-filled summer camp programs, make sure to keep an eye out for more information and news on these FIN-tastic camp sessions throughout the year! |
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Thank you to
our donors!*
Major Gifts
Jerry & Judy Kent
Metropolitan St. Louis
--Sewer District
Mr. George Bauer
Global Waters Circle Members
Barry Cervantes
Drs. Surendra & Shalini
--Shenoy
Kellie & Eric Vahey
Kimmie and Steve Brauer
Mr. & Mrs. John O’Connell
Mr. and Mrs. Sivewright
Ms. Anita Siegmund
Ray and Laurie Van de Riet
Ted and Gayle Garrett
Aquarium Friends Circle Members
Brian & Nora McMorrow
Laurel Palmer
Mr. David Piston
Ms. Cassady Caldwell
Ms. Jane Schaefer
Surendra & Karen Gupta
Donations
Bob & Carolyn Guest
Dillon Soliben
Drs. Surendra and Shalini
--Shenoy
Eryn Wissler
Gateway Salvation Army
Geoffrey & Kelly Hessler
Greg & JoAnne Pieczynski
Jerome Whitehead
Katherine & Richard Fitzer
Keith & Cindi Guller
Kelly Bagwe
Leslen Sanders
Linda & Jesse Hunter
Lori Hubbard
Loyet Landscape
--Maintenance
Midas Construction
Ms. Melissa Paz
Mr. Scott Roberts
Mrs. LaVerne Lorenzini
Mrs. Peggy Ritter
Mrs. Rita Wagner
Ms. Cassady Caldwell
Ms. Stephanie Meyer
Patricia Boehm
Robert O’Loughlin
Ronald and Cheryl Fromm
Ryan Weber
Samantha Katzman
St. Louis Aquarium at
--Union Station
Stephanie & Alex Lee
Stephanie Turnipseed
Susan Esker
Venessa Van Schalkwyk
Voorhees International
--Inc.
Westport Pools
*List includes gifts of $250+ received between 7/1/2023 and 12/31/2023
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Thank you to
our 2023 Splash Bash Gala Supporters!
Presenting Sponsor
Stifel
Beach Sponsors
Purina
Corporate Flooring Group
Sysco
Shark Sponsor
Kent Plumbing Inc.
Stingray Sponsors
Anne and Doug Albrecht
American Electric & Data,
--Inc.
Anthem Blue Cross and
--Blue Shied
Bank of Washington
Charles E. Jarrell
--Contracting Co. Inc.
DE-ZYN studios
Fixture Contracting
--Company
Ford Hotel Supply
Husch Blackwell LLP
Lawrence Group
Mercy
Paz Family Foundation
PGAV Destinations
Saint Louis University
Tier Point
Warren Sign
Western Specialty
--Contractors
World Wide Technology
Otter Sponsors
A-Mrazek Moving
AAA Parking
Ameren
American Carnival Mart
Build-A-Bear Foundation
Bob and Carolyn Guest
CK Power Family of
--Companies
Crown Linen Service, Inc.
Ecolab
Enterprise Bank &
--Trust Foundation/Laura
--& Jim Lally
Frederic Roofing
GFI Digital Inc.
Harrick Group
Hunter Family Foundation
Midwest Elevator
--Company, Inc.
Paric
Promaster Cleaning and
--Restoration
Smokehouse Market/Annie
--Gunn's
United Fire Protection
In-Kind Donors
Advertisers Printing
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Bijoux Chocolates
Bogarts Smokehouse
City Museum
Contemporary Art Museum
Defiance Ridge Vineyards
Dewey's Pizza
Drury Hotels
Evntiv
Fabulous Fox Theatre
Gateway Arch Park
--Foundation
Growing Green
Hot Box Cookies
Linda and Jesse Hunter
Ironman Sound Industries
Kendra Scott
Hall Studio
Landry's Seafood House
Lodging Hospitality
--Management
Missouri Botanical Garden
Narwhal's Crafted
Paper Dolls
Pi Pizza
Pin Up Bowl
Southern Glazer's Wine &
--Spirits
Saint Louis University
--Billikens
Saint Louis Zoo
St. Louis Aquarium at
--Union Station
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis City SC
STAGES St. Louis
Studio Branca
Nancy Suelflow
The Muny
The Repertory Theatre St.
--Louis
The Saint Louis Wheel
The Sheldon Concert Hall
Total Wine & More
Kellie Vahey
Gail and Randy Weller
Yellowstone Cafe
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The St. Louis Aquarium Foundation would like to bid Maxine Clark a fond farewell as she moves off of the Foundation Board. Maxine's time, talent, and inspiration have helped to shape the Foundation into what it is today and we will always be thankful for her continuous support. We wish her well as she moves on to other projects that support and impact the St. Louis community for the better.
We are extremely grateful for all she has done for the Foundation, as we would not be where we are today without her involvement and encouragement. The Foundation is excited to see all that she continues to do for the community. Thank you, Maxine!
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We would like to o-FISH-ally welcome our new St. Louis Aquarium Foundation board member, Linda Hunter! |
We are excited for Linda to join our board and continue to make a difference for the Foundation! Linda has been a major supporter of the St. Louis Aquarium Foundation since the start. As our previous Development Committee Chair, 2021 Gala chair, and a major contributor to the Foundation's efforts, Linda continues to advocate for the Foundation's mission of engaging individuals through access, conservation, and education programs, building powerful communities for water stewardship.
She has not only shared her dedication and desire to help others with the Foundation, but is also the Executive Board Member of the Magic House, Pink Ribbon Girls organization, and the St. Louis Zoo. The Foundation is thrilled to have Linda as a new board member as she continues to provide her creative insights and efforts in providing access and education programs to our community!
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In November, we completed our 2023 Revamp the Riverfront series, which turned out to be a huge success!
Throughout the year, we hosted 6 river cleanups in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway and the local community as a part of our commitment to water stewardship and supporting our downtown neighbors.
Overall, in our 2023 Revamp the Riverfront series, over 160 volunteers collected approximately 190 bags of trash, totaling over 2,000 pounds of pollution from entering the Mighty Mississippi and eventually our oceans! Thank you to all our volunteers who joined us this year in demonstrating our commitment to protecting our rivers and oceans from plastic pollution. We appreciate your efforts and so do all of the Riverfront visitors and aquatic animals who make the Mississippi River their home!
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As our 2023 series comes to a close, we are EEL-ated to announce our 2024 Revamp the Riverfront series dates and locations!
We have added 4 more dates to this year's series for a total of 10 cleanups! Due to the cold weather forecast, we have sadly cancelled our first cleanup on Monday, January 15th for our MLK Day of Service. Keep an eye out for more information on our rescheduled date, time, and location to kick off our Revamp the Riverfront series!
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Join us in Revamping the Riverfront to protect our waterways by preventing debris from spilling into the Mississippi River and traveling out to our oceans! The ability to expand our commitment to water stewardship would not be possible without our amazing volunteers, so we hope that you will be able to join us this year to continue supporting our community.
Visit the link for more information and to register! You can also sign up for our quarterly newsletter and follow us on Facebook for updates on our 2024 Revamp the Riverfront dates and other ways to get involved.
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St. Louis Aquarium Foundation | 314.923.3926 | info@stlaquariumfoundation.org
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