Texas State Aquarium Announces a $2.5-Million Donation from the Port of Corpus Christi
December 7, 2020
The grant will directly support the work of the Aquarium's renowned Wildlife Rescue Center.
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX USA– The Texas State Aquarium announced today that it will receive a $2.5-million grant from the Port of Corpus Christi to support the vital work of the Aquarium’s Wildlife Rescue Center and Program.
The Center will be renamed The Port of Corpus Christi Center for Wildlife Rescue at the Texas State Aquarium in honor of the gift, which is the largest single donation yet made to fund the Aquarium’s renowned wildlife rescue effort.
“We are pleased and humbled to accept this wonderful donation from our neighbors at the Port of Corpus Christi. This gift builds on our 30 year partnership with the Port of Corpus Christi. The Port’s generosity will underwrite the work of our Wildlife Rescue Center, the only wild animal rehabilitation center in Texas able to simultaneously care for raptors, shorebirds, dolphins, manatees and sea turtles. The grant will permit further expansion of our successful animal care program and allow us to rescue and treat thousands of injured animals,” said Aquarium President & CEO Tom Schmid.
“The Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center has been a stellar example of wildlife protection and a source of community pride for the Coastal Bend,” said Sean Strawbridge, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Corpus Christi. “The Port of Corpus Christi is delighted to continue our support of the Aquarium’s Wildlife Rescue Center with this significant contribution earmarked for the purchase of state-of-the-art acute-care equipment, training of the Center’s dedicated staff and volunteer force, and expanded ability to rescue, treat, and ultimately release thousands of injured animals indigenous to our bays and estuaries.”
The waters and shores along the Gulf Coast of Texas are natural wonders, but they are subject to often violent natural weather and disasters. The coastlands and waterways are also home to very active industrial and recreational users.
“It is our constant mission at the Aquarium to keep uppermost in the public mind the impact of our human lives and livelihoods on our adjacent seas, shores, marshlands, and wilderness,” added Schmid. “The grant from the Port of Corpus Christi helps us to meet those goals and continue to build a brighter, protected, shared future for the marine life, shore life and human communities that depend upon the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and beyond.”