lets try change the topic about the Genesis center (Scranton: how much, living in)

[sausages]

Can we help Since nothing is getting done now - the only way I see that this can get better is to help - why don't we all donate $5 and see if it helps with things there - I don't think the complaining is going to change anything at the moment so what about helping - I am going to send $5 now - anyone else want to try this approach and see if it helps. What have we got to loose - then lets go back and visit in a month or so. The other thread had over 7000 views we could have bought a new facility at this point if everyone of those views turned into a dollar or 2 !

Whom do we make the checks out to and to what address ?

[SteelCityRising]

You can just do what I do and donate when you visit the wildlife center.

[scrantonluna]

Money will not help this situation.

[SifuPhil]

Originally Posted by sausages

The other thread had over 7000 views we could have bought a new facility at this point if everyone of those views turned into a dollar or 2 !

Sorry to point this out, Sausages, since your heart seems to be in the right place, but $14,000 is probably the feed bill for one month - I think a new facility might cost a bit more.

[weluvpa]

No matter how much money is donated or given to the GWC, their inconsistant and sub-par money managing skills will continue to plague the center.

A bigger center just means larger bills, they cannot afford to maintain the facility they have so I think a bigger facility would just mean larger problems.

We should concentrate on getting those cubs out of there and into a center that can give them the life they deserve.

[SifuPhil]

And Christy Capal from WBRE was just there this morning - a ploy to get the center in people's good graces?

She made what I thought was a horrible gaffe when she was in front of one of the small cat's cages - the poor thing was pacing back and forth on its little concrete floor, and she says

"Gee, he looks angry (ha, ha)"

[mbs7]

Originally Posted by sausages

Can we help Since nothing is getting done now - the only way I see that this can get better is to help - why don't we all donate $5 and see if it helps with things there - I don't think the complaining is going to change anything at the moment so what about helping - I am going to send $5 now - anyone else want to try this approach and see if it helps. What have we got to loose - then lets go back and visit in a month or so. The other thread had over 7000 views we could have bought a new facility at this point if everyone of those views turned into a dollar or 2 !

Whom do we make the checks out to and to what address ?

I'm afraid I have to agree with those who said that your heart is in the right place, but that simply making small donations will not be enough. A lot of money would be needed, and no matter how much money is donated, it's still not going to address the fact that the current management seems to lack the judgment and expertise needed to run a decent animal facility.

I'm sure that if you still want to donate money, you can call or visit the Genesis Wildlife Center for more information on how to donate. Incidentally, if I really thought that money would help, I would have sent them a check for a lot more than $2 a long time ago. And I already did donate at the door as well as sending them $25 for the fund to move their alligators to a better home. Unfortunately, at this point my opinion of the management at the center is so low that I wouldn't trust them to spend any amount of money wisely.

[mbs7]

Originally Posted by SifuPhil

And Christy Capal from WBRE was just there this morning - a ploy to get the center in people's good graces?

She made what I thought was a horrible gaffe when she was in front of one of the small cat's cages - the poor thing was pacing back and forth on its little concrete floor, and she says

"Gee, he looks angry (ha, ha)"

One of the problems I have with the Genesis Wildlife Center is that it really does not educate those who visit it. I'm sure that many Scranton residents (particularly those who are animal lovers) have visited zoos, sanctuaries, and/or wildlife refuges in other areas and know perfectly well that the GWC is an inferior facility. But I am concerned that some residents--particularly children--may not realize how substandard the center is and may trust whatever information the GWC volunteers provide. Unfortunately, as we have seen here in several discussions, the information provided by volunteers may be misleading or even completely inaccurate. Since most adults probably don't know a lot about lemurs or binturongs, parents may be ill equipped to correct the incorrect information that the GWC volunteers may give to children.

Further, as I have said before, since the animals at the GWC are living in conditions that are very far from those found in their natural habitats, they are likely to engage in a lot of abnormal behaviors (such as the pacing noted above). A person watching the GWC animals could come away with a very inaccurate impression of how the animals would actually behave in the wild.

Scranton has never had a really good zoo; if over the years, Scranton residents had had an opportunity to visit a good animal facility on a regular basis, then I think it would have been very difficult for the GWC to convince anyone in Scranton that their operation was worth supporting.

It would be better for Scranton to have no zoo or else a very modest but well-run zoo than a poorly run facility in which abnormal animal behavior, overcrowding, bad smells, poor diet, small cages, etc. are all part of the sad, daily routine.

[Southwb]

Money will not help their problem. Those people have too many animals in one place. They are not so great with money either. They need to have a small budget, to work with.