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The Mary N. Porter

Learning Center

Thanks to your generous help, Flamingo Gardens has raised over $1.6 million towards a new and upgraded Learning Center to serve the 30,000 plus school children visiting on field trips, provide much-needed classroom space for our ecological programming, and multi-purpose meeting space for the many groups and organizations we serve.
Master Plan

As part of Flamingo Garden Master Plan, the  Board of Trustees approved the construction of a new Learning Center in the front entrance area. It is the completion of Phase I of our Capital Campaign for a new Welcome Center campus and will be called the Mary N. Porter Learning Center in honor of the philanthropist of the lead naming gift- a $500,000 grant from the Mary N. Porter Legacy Fund.

Relocating the building from the old Meeting Room site to the front entrance area provides:

  • the desired access for fire trucks and fire hydrants​
  • adequate parking for guests
  • safer access and more security for evening classes and meetings.

The move also allows us to build a larger multi-purpose classroom space and larger ADA compliant bathrooms to more fully meet our needs.

The primary purpose of the Learning Center is to host the ecological education programs for tens of thousands of students, as well as meeting and class space for the thousands of adults we expect it to serve.

The new building was completed and opened in Spring of 2022.

Flamingo Gardens Board 2017 President Barbara Murrish (third from left) and Executive Director Keith Clark (fourth from left) accept a $500,000 check from the Board of Directors at the Community Foundation of Broward. Left to Right: Gary Bitner, Cynthia Borders-Byrd, Murrish, Clark, Stacy Ostrau, and Alicia Lucia Jackson.

FLAMINGO GARDENS RECEIVES $500,000 GRANT FROM MARY N. PORTER LEGACY FUND

Flamingo Gardens is receiving a half million dollars from the estate of a local philanthropist to help fund a new 10,000 sq. ft. Welcome Center at the botanical gardens and wildlife sanctuary.

On November 2017, the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Broward announced a total $1.9 million in grants from the Mary N. Porter Legacy Fund to fund capital projects at four area nonprofits, including the grant to Flamingo Gardens.

Read Press Release

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Donna Ogdon Chen
Senior Director of Development
(954) 473-2955 x127
[email protected]

Thank You Donors!

We thank the many donors that generously contributed to Phase I of our Capital Campaign for the new Learning Center. Donations of $1000 or more will be recognized on a permanent donor acknowledgement marker on the Mary N. Porter Learning Center.


NAMING DONOR
($500,000)

  • MARY N. PORTER LEGACY FUND


PLATINUM DONORS
($100,000 to $499,999)

  • THE BATCHELOR FOUNDATIONS CAROL HOLDREN


DIAMOND DONORS
($50,000 to $99,999)

  • FELBURN FAMILY FOUNDATION
  • FLOYD L. WRAY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
  • FRIENDS OF FLAMINGO GARDENS
  • STRAUS FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST

GOLD DONORS
($25,000 to $49,999)

  • ANONYMOUS
  • FLEMING FAMILY FOUNDATION
  • FLAMINGO GARDENS VOLUNTEERS
  • FREED FOUNDATION
  • JOHN KYLE & KRISTINA BRUNI


SILVER DONORS
($10,000 to $24,999)

  • JAN AMADOR
  • BAUMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION
  • LESLIE L. ALEXANDER FOUNDATION
  • MELINDA SCHWARTZ
  • KNOPF FAMILY FOUNDATION
  • LYNN TSUCALAS


BRONZE DONORS
($5,000 to $9,999)

  • ANONYMOUS
  • DREW CARIASO AND ERICH VEITENHEIMER
  • KEITH CLARK
  • CPZ ARCHITECTS
  • FOLKE H. PETERSON CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
  • BARARA MURRISH
  • KEITH CLARK
  • ULTIMATE SOFTWARE in Memory of Guillermo Gomez
  • WEST PALM BEACH JUDGING CENTER
    STAN WOOD


EXHIBIT DONORS
($1,000 to $4,999)

  • MELISSA ADAMS & MICHAEL BECK
  • HERBERT AND SANDRA ALLENSON
  • LYNN ATKINSON
  • SUSAN CHALMERS
  • MIKE & DONNA CHEN
  • CATHI CRANE
  • THE DYLAN SCHOPP SUNSHINE FOUNDATION
  • GIVE REALTY in Honor of Scott Holtzman
  • THOMAS GRAMMER
  • GENE & COLLETTE HERMAN
  • LARRY HILL
  • INVITATION HOMES
  • LINCOLN AND GAIL KIEM
  • LINDA LAMBERT
  • EFFIE LEWIS
  • LAW ENFORCEMENT PSYCHOLOGICAL & COUNSELING ASSOCIATES, INC.
  • BILL LODATO & LUZ MATOS-LODATO
  • THE BILLI MARCUS FOUNDATION
  • BENJAMIN & LINDA LAMBERT
  • DAVIE LEDBETTER
  • THE MANGAN FAMILY
  • SARAH MORALES
  • DIEDRE OTTO
  • JUDY PAUL
  • CHRISTINA PELLICANE & JAMES BATEMAN
  • STEVE & ANGELA PRESSMAN
  • JOHN & JANE PURSLEY
  • SHARON PURSLEY
  • SCOTT PRITCHETT
  • GENNARO SELVAGGI
  • DENISE, RAYMOND & JUSTIN SILVA
  • ANDREE SIRACUSA
  • KEVIN SMITH
  • MARILYN STEELE
  • TARGET
  • JANICE TOMARCHIO & MAUREEN
  • MORAN IN MEMORY OF JOHN TOMARCHIO
  • TODD & THERESA WANDSTRAT