Donors of school supplies to get zoo discount

The new school year is approaching, and you still haven’t taken the kids to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium this summer, you say?

Well, here’s a deal for you. A drive to issue a new backpack filled with school supplies to every Columbus City Schools student can be your ticket to a day at the zoo for a six-member family. In return for a donation of a backpack and $4, you can get up to $132 worth of zoo tickets.

And whether the six people are actually members of your “family” is kind of up to you to decide; the zoo says it doesn’t have any way to check (wink).

“We’re always interested in doing things that relate to kids and children,” said Peter A. Fingerhut, vice president of marketing and sales for the zoo. “Families are going to love coming to the zoo. You’re getting all of that for $4.”

Zoo officials expect 5,000 to 6,000 backpack-donating visitors Wednesday, “but I’ve seen promotions where we’ve brought in 30,000,” Fingerhut said.

The forecast for Wednesday calls for a 60 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms and a high of 80 degrees. The zoo will repeat the offer a week later, on Aug. 8, Fingerhut said.

Parking is the normal $10 per vehicle, and participants can donate as many backpacks as they wish, even though only one is required for the discount.

The zoo deal is part of a plan that has teamed the school district with Columbus TV station WCMH (Channel 4) in an effort to collect 52,000 brand-new, supplies-filled backpacks by the start of school Aug. 23, said district spokesman Scott Varner.

“We’ll look at the contents and determine if it’s an elementary or upper-grade level” backpack, Varner said.

The district has collected thousands of backpacks since the collaboration with the TV station began in May, Varner said.

“I think we’re probably about halfway, between those that we’ve collected and those that we know are committed by businesses, churches and nonprofits,” Varner said.

If you can’t make it to the zoo, there are lots of other ways to donate:

• Backpacks can be dropped off at the school district’s Downtown headquarters at 270 E. State St.

• NBC4 is having a dropoff at its station, at 3165 Olentangy River Road, from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.

• Backpacks also can be dropped off at any PrimaryOne Health community health center or CME Federal Credit Union.

“We’re trying to make it as easy as possible,” said Josh Combs, the creative-services director at the TV station.

Combs said donors also may give cash, maximizing their purchasing power for backpacks.

“If we buy in bulk, the costs go down considerably,” Combs said.

Basically, for $10 you can buy a backpack for a student, while a business could donate $270 and outfit an entire classroom, he said.

Instructions on how to donate money in cash or check or electronically are available on the station’s website, nbc4i.com, Combs said.