The Annenberg Foundation is helping San Diego Zoo Global work toward its goal of ending extinction and supporting the distribution of the San Diego Zoo Kids Network to children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses across the country. A recent grant of $200,000 from the Los Angeles-based organization will be divided between two projects: one that assists researchers in finding breeding alternatives for the northern white rhinoceros and one that delivers children’s educational programming, filled with animal interactions and animal stories, to promote well-being of young patients. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido, Calif., is home to one of only five remaining northern white rhinos in the world. Because of the scientific expertise of researchers at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research and the animal care facilities at the Safari Park, the Annenberg Foundation has granted $102,000 to the organization, to be used toward the genetic rescue of the Northern white rhino—including developing techniques to reliably reproduce this species. The remaining $98,000 of the grant is given to assist in delivery of San Diego Zoo Kids to 14 children’s medical facilities. San Diego Zoo Kids is a closed-circuit television broadcast channel that gives children the opportunity to see animals 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The channel combines videos of animals at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, along with conservation fieldwork, footage from live animal cams, and interviews with keepers and scientists. These videos provide entertaining and enjoyable stories for children and their parents. The channel also provides content from partner zoos around the country. To date, San Diego Zoo Kids features stories from the Los Angeles Zoo, the Denver Zoo, Utah’s Hogle Zoo, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, and the Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum of Natural History in Sioux Falls, S.D. The creation and development of San Diego Zoo Kids was made possible by a founding gift from businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is made accessible to children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the Internet and in children’s hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by The Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global. About the Annenberg Foundation The Annenberg Foundation is a family foundation that provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally. The Foundation and its Board of Directors are also directly involved in the community, with innovative projects that further its mission of advancing a better tomorrow through visionary leadership today. The Foundation encourages the development of effective ways to share ideas and knowledge. CONTACT: SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL PUBLIC RELATIONS, 619-685-3291