MULTIMEDIA NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2020

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jenn Jacome
Director, Public Relations
Texas Children's
Office: 832-824-2679
Cell: 281-704-3777
jmjacome@texaschildrens.org

Marc Morris
Communications Coordinator
Ronald McDonald House Houston
Office: 713-795-3500
Direct line: 713-795-3563
mmorris@rmhhouston.org

Jackie Wallace
Senior Public Relations Director
Houston Zoo
Office: 713-533-6531
jwallace@houstonzoo.org    

Lauren Wappler
Manager, Public Relations
Houston Zoo
Office: 713-533-6613
lwappler@houstonzoo.org

Public Relations
San Diego Zoo
619-685-3291
publicrelations@sandiegozoo.org

MULTIMEDIA NEWS RELEASE

San Diego Zoo Kids Channel Celebrates 300th Facility Milestone: Broadcasting Begins at Texas Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Houston

Featuring Amazing Animal Stories from Houston Zoo

A celebration took place at Texas Children’s Hospital earlier today (Jan. 30, 2020), complete with animals from the Houston Zoo—including a screech owl and a rabbit. The special event for patients, their families, hospital staff and invited guests was held to announce the arrival of San Diego Zoo Kids, a closed-circuit television adventure channel, at Texas Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Houston—making this the 300th launch event for the innovative television channel. 

The creation and development of the channel was funded by businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. In 2017, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded San Diego Zoo Global an outstanding Museums for America grant to bring San Diego Zoo Kids to 75 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald House Charities facilities across the nation over the next three years. The generous grant from IMLS made the channel available on television monitors at Texas Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Houston.

“At Texas Children’s Hospital, we are committed to the holistic care of children and families,” Dr. Mark Kline, physician-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, said. “Outstanding partners, like the San Diego Zoo Kids Channel, can help to normalize the hospital experience for the children and families we serve.” 

The service is also making its debut at the Ronald McDonald House Houston. “Ronald McDonald House Houston is honored to partner with San Diego Zoo Kids. We are thrilled to offer this exciting wildlife programing to the children and families who call RMH Houston “home”,” said Rick Noriega, chief executive officer, Ronald McDonald House Houston. “This wildlife programming provides a wonderful activity that both children and their families can enjoy. This program makes their stay in our ‘home away from home’ more positive, during what can be a difficult time.” Noriega added, “I see the direct impact Mogie, our comfort ambassador has on the kids, as well as other therapy animals that come in and out of our house. I know that the children and families, as well as staff of the house are grateful for this wonderful opportunity.”

The San Diego Zoo Kids channel features programs produced primarily for medical facilities that serve pediatric patients and their families. San Diego Zoo Kids furthers San Diego Zoo Global’s mission to inspire a passion for wildlife and brings the Zoo experience to young patients and their families during challenging times. Through partnerships with the Houston Zoo, and other zoos, aquariums and nature reserves around the world, children are transported to special places to meet amazing animals and experience their breathtaking habitats. Kids also meet the animals’ caretakers and learn how individual animals have overcome medical challenges of their own. 

“The Houston Zoo is thrilled to partner with San Diego Zoo Global and Texas Children’s Hospital to deliver heartwarming and educational animal stories to children who are unable to visit our zoo,” said Jackie Wallace, public relations senior director, Houston Zoo. “By sharing a glimpse into the lives of our animals and zookeepers, we hope to connect these children with animals, inspiring passion to save wildlife around the world.”

Since the San Diego Zoo Kids channel debuted in 2013 at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, more than 48 hours of up-close video encounters with animals, stories about caring for animals, quizzes about animals and habitats, and a wide variety of short video vignettes have been produced for the channel. Viewers can also see best-of videos from the San Diego Zoo’s Elephant Cam and other online cameras, as well as content from the Houston Zoo and other zoos around the world.

“Denny Sanford has given us this meaningful opportunity to share the joy and wonderment of animals with children who may be unable to visit their local zoo or aquarium because of injury or illness,” said Paul Baribault, president and CEO of San Diego Zoo Global. “We hope the inspiring stories on the San Diego Zoo Kids channel can be a source of comfort and inspiration when young patients need it most.”   

While today’s event celebrated the 300th facility to launch the channel, San Diego Zoo Kids is installed in a total of 306 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses to date—in 44 states across the U.S. and the District of Columbia, and in facilities in Australia, Canada, Curacao, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom. 

About Texas Children’s Hospital
Texas Children’s Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children’s hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children’s has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women’s health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Tower for pediatric research; Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, the first hospital devoted to children’s care for communities north of Houston. The organization also created Texas Children’s Health Plan, the nation’s first HMO for children; Texas Children’s Pediatrics, the largest pediatric primary care network in the country; Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinics that specialize in after-hours care tailored specifically for children; and a global health program that’s channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.

About Ronald McDonald House Houston
Ronald McDonald House Houston (RMH Houston) provides families with a home away from home: a safe, comfortable, affordable place to live while their child receives treatment for a life threatening illness inside the Texas Medical Center. While meeting the families’ most vital need for a place to stay, RMH Houston also offers meals, activities, and opportunities to connect with other families facing similar crises. 
 
For more than three decades, RMH Houston has served families with seriously ill children being treated in Texas Medical Center member institutions. Today, that vision has grown to help more than 3,000 families in the Ronald McDonald House Houston Houses in 2016 and thousands more in our family rooms located within the hospitals. The Ronald McDonald House Houston facilities include the Holcombe House, a free-standing 70-bedroom home for longer-term stays; a house inside Texas Children’s Hospital with 20 bedrooms; a house inside Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital with 14 bedrooms; four family rooms inside Texas Children’s Hospital; a family room inside MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital; and a Cookie Corner inside Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. For more information, please visit www.rmhhouston.org, or follow us on Facebook.

About Houston Zoo
The Houston Zoo connects communities with animals, inspiring action to save wildlife. Established in 1922, today the Zoo is a leading conservation and education nonprofit organization providing care to thousands of animals. All while remaining a cherished destination for fun, family, and inspiration for all of Houston’s diverse communities. The Houston Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. To stay informed about the Houston Zoo, visit www.houstonzoo.org.
 
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s approximately 120,000 libraries and 35,000 museums, and related organizations. Its mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. IMLS grant making, policy development and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive.

About IMLS Community Anchors Program
IMLS promotes the role of museums as essential partners in addressing the needs of their communities by leveraging their expertise, knowledge, physical space, technology and other resources to identify and implement solutions. By strengthening museums’ capacities for civic engagement, these projects contribute to the creation of livable, sustainable communities. IMLS welcomes applications for projects that empower museums to transform their roles in their communities from being community resources to being community catalysts. Museums have a role to play providing civic and cultural engagement, facilitating lifelong learning, promoting digital inclusion and supporting economic vitality through programming and services. IMLS encourages projects that demonstrate collaboration, adopt co-creating strategies and engage with a wide variety of cross-sector stakeholders to accomplish a sustained collective-impact goal.

About San Diego Zoo Kids
San Diego Zoo Kids reaches out to millions of children each year who might not otherwise be able to experience the wonders of animals, plants and their habitats, with the goal of making nature accessible to children everywhere. As part of San Diego Zoo Global, an international nonprofit conservation organization that works to save plants and animals worldwide, San Diego Zoo Kids seeks to fight extinction by raising awareness, building respect and igniting a passion for wildlife and conservation among younger audiences. The San Diego Zoo Kids website (kids.sandiegozoo.org) provides a learning experience about animals, habitats and conservation for children anywhere. San Diego Zoo Kids provides free and discounted education programs in San Diego that meet LEAD standards for science curriculum and provides teacher training (kids.sandiegozoo.org/grownups). The San Diego Zoo Kids channel (sandiegozoo.org/kidsnetwork) broadcasts television programming in more than 300 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses around the world, providing joy, comfort, laughter and learning to children and their families who are experiencing challenging times. To learn more, visit the links above or connect with us on Facebook and YouTube. 

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