Palm Beach Day Academy Launches Largest Campaign

With Celebrations Commencing - Wednesday, May 30, 2012

PALM BEACH, FL (May 29, 2012) – With Palm Beach Day Academy’s largest fundraising campaign now in progress, a celebratory kick off to the Great Expectations campaign will take place on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 11:00 A.M. with the renaming of the Mathews Auditorium to the Matthews Performing Arts Center on its Upper Campus located at 241 Seaview Avenue in Palm Beach. Construction hats will be provided for all attendees and renovations will officially begin June 9. Expansion for the school will continue this summer on both the lower campus (Pre K – Grade 3) in West Palm Beach and the upper campus (Grades 4 – Grade 9) in Palm Beach.

The Great Expectations Campaign began with the purchase of the Unity Church property positioned in the center of the school’s Lower Campus on Flagler Drive. The school’s leadership under the direction of Head of School, Dr. Rebecca van der Bogert, formed a long-range plan for capital improvements, expansion, professional development and endowments.  

Great Expectation Campaign Co-Chairs include Michael Ainslie, Lourdes Fanjul, Scott Johnson and Glenn Straub.  Honorary Co-Chairs are William Matthews and James Patterson.  More than 60 parents, past parents and alumni serve on the Campaign Steering Committee.

Many significant milestones have already been achieved.  This past year, the “quiet phase” of the campaign concluded with 100% participation of Palm Beach Day Academy’s Board of Trustees, faculty and staff.  To date, many of the school’s most generous long time friends and families have joined them to raise more than $7.5 million toward the initial goal of $14 million for Phase I and II.

The current focus is to raise the remaining $900,000 necessary to renovate the Matthews Performing Arts Center located on the school’s Upper Campus on Seaview Avenue.  Temporary classrooms now occupy fifty percent of the structure due to the overcrowding of the campus in the late 1990’s. Palm Beachers Frances and Jeffrey Fisher have agreed to match each gift in support of Matthews dollar-for-dollar up to $300,000.  Frances Fisher serves on the school’s Board of Trustees. 

“We anxiously await the renaissance of the Matthews Performing Arts Center which, for years, served as the centerpiece of our Upper Campus.” Said Dr. van der Bogert.

With construction slated to begin this June, the 300-seat theater will allow students to once again enjoy activities synonymous with Palm Beach Day including: The spring musical, Ralph Greco’s public speaking course, assemblies, and commencement – in a state-of-the art facility that will rival any of the small-scale theaters in the area.

Other capital improvements in the school’s long range plan include construction of a Center for Athletics and Arts and Comprehensive Educational Building to form a unified Lower Campus on Flagler Drive for students age two through third grade.  Additionally, funds are being raised for professional development, financial aid, academic chairs and endowment.

“This campaign is a game changer,” states Ainslie. “We know we are an excellent school.  With the enhancements, we are going to be a world-class school.”

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About Palm Beach Day Academy

Palm Beach Day Academy is a coeducational independent day school located in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, Florida.  An enrollment of over 500 students in Pre-Kindergarten 2 year olds to Ninth Grade is drawn from Palm Beach and West Palm Beach and the outlying communities as far south as Manalapan, west as Wellington and north as Jupiter.  Palm Beach Day Academy is incorporated as a non-sectarian, not-for-profit school.  It has been a member of the National Association of Independent Schools since 1957 and is evaluated and accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools and the Florida Kindergarten Council.  Founded in 1921, Palm Beach Day Academy is the oldest incorporated independent school in Florida.  For more information, please visit: www.pbday.org.

SUPPORTERS HEAD SOUTH OF THE BORDER FOR ANNUAL PALM BEACH ZOO

“DO AT THE ZOO - SOUTH OF THE BORDER” 

WEST PALM BEACH (May 21, 2012) – Donning sombreros and shaking maracas, Palm Beach Zoo supporters traveled “South of the Border” on Friday, May 4th for the Palm Beach Zoo’s annual spring Do at the Zoo fundraiser.

Taking place under a near full moon on the Mayan Plaza, event highlights included the opportunity to meet and greet exotic animals accompanied by zookeepers and a lucky few got to actually travel behind the scenes for up close and personal visits with bears, tigers, and jaguars. 

The sold-out evening, hosted by Mary Baker and Susanna Hager with Whitney Bylin and Tommy Quick serving as Event Committee Chairmen, included cocktails courtesy of Bacardi USA and a movable feast provided by area restaurants including: The Bonefish Grill, Cha Cha’s, Imoto, Outback Steakhouse, PB Catch, Café Sapori, Echo, the Leopard Lounge, the Palm Beach Zoo’s Tropics Café, and Rooney’s Public House.

The array of local restaurants served up delectable delights that included lamb chops with remoulade, crab cakes, Bang Bang Shrimp, guajillo pork tacos, south of the border braised beef on crispy wonton chips, homemade Mexican wedding cookies, an ice cream cart, and chicken and cheese quesadillas to end the evening.  Celebrating 150 years of bringing people together, Bacardi USA made quite a splash with dedicated "Bacardi bars," throughout the party, which included Bacardi bartenders serving up a full complement of spirits.  There were also Bacardi models in their signature red dresses, who greeted guests with south of the border cocktails featuring the Bacardi-owned premium Tequila, Cazadores.  Guests enjoyed the smooth "Cazadores ZooRita" made with grapefruit juice, limejuice and agave nectar and the refreshing "Cazadores El Tigre" with grapefruit soda and limejuice.

Host Committee members included: Lourdes Fanjul, Tory Grauer, Ashley Ramos, April Finch, Patrick Killian, Lauriston Roach, Mary Freitas, Emily Mateer, and Samantha Storkerson. Presenting Corporate Sponsors included Bacardi USA, C-Biz, Christie’s, Florida Power & Light and Maisie’s Daisies.

All proceeds from “Do at the Zoo – South of the Border” help the zoo advance its mission to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat and to inspire others to value and conserve the natural world. 

The Palm Beach Zoo is home to more than 1,400 animals and is nationally accredited by the Association of zoos and aquariums. The zoo, located at 1301 Summit Boulevard, in West Palm Beach, is planning a new tiger exhibit in which a portion of the proceeds from the various zoo fundraisers goes towards.  This exhibit is being designed to enhance the habitat of the three Malayan tiger cubs born just one year ago. Last year, the Palm Beach Zoo was one of only two institutions to successfully breed Malayan tigers. In Partnership with Panthera and the Wildlife Conservation Society through their Tigers Forever project, The Palm Beach Zoo is proud to be a part of a global effort to help protect tigers and their habitat. 

If you would like more information on this topic or to schedule an interview, please call Linda Soper at (561) 835-9057 or email: linda@lindalanemarketing.com. 

Photos courtesy of Lucien Capehart Photography.

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