Feted at Virginia Living Museum
NEWPORT NEWS, VA (November 19, 2024) – The Virginia Living Museum announces an extraordinary gift and presents its prestigious Golden Paw Impact Award to the Petters Family Foundation during the Museum’s Ribbon Cutting event for the new Wild Care Center on campus.
The Petters Family Foundation is renowned for their exceptional generosity for education. Their investments are a continuation of longstanding efforts to foster education and community engagement which include support for high quality programs, scholarships, new buildings and education for students at all socioeconomic levels.
Michael and Nancy Petters have a 30 year long history of support for the Virginia Living Museum. They joined as a member family in the early 90’s supporting their children’s development. Soon thereafter, they became regular annual fund supporters and increased their generous participation through three major Museum fundraising campaigns. Mike and Nancy supported the Museum’s campaign for growth into a new main building in 2004 as the Early Childhood Education Room sponsors. In 2015 they became lead supporters for the 50th Anniversary Future Ready Campaign.
Now, the Petters Family Foundation has provided an extraordinary lead gift of $1 million dollars to the Virginia Living Museum’s Next Gen: Protect what’s Precious Growth Campaign for science achievement. The Museum’s new state-of-the-art Veterinary Hospital inside the Wild Care Center, bears the supportive name of the Petters Family Foundation. Mike and Nancy Petters accepted the Museum’s Golden Paw Impact Award for their family foundation, which includes daughters Sarah and Caroline, as recognition of their extraordinary support and commitment to advancing the museum’s mission to connect people to nature.
Accepting the award, Nancy and Mike shared the value of caring and supporting the most vulnerable members of our community, how strong connections shape identity, and the broad perspective board service brings to the fabric of our community when corporations engage and invest in quality of life organizations. The Virginia Living Museum was Mike’s first nonprofit board position; he later served on the Board of Advisors through 2017 to further support organizational growth. Nancy is a long-time early childhood educator. Together they continue to serve the Hampton Roads region through multiple organizations to enhance education through board service and philanthropy and have received numerous awards for their selfless service.
“The Petters family is the epitome of community leadership and involvement. As active members of the Hampton Roads community, they have served many, many nonprofit organizations with a focus on the core value of education. We are so very honored to learn from them, to enjoy their generous gifts of time and talent, and to grow our mission of education in the natural sciences with them” stated Museum Executive Director Rebecca Kleinhample. “They are just beyond compare in their approach and effect on so many individuals and organizations.”
The Virginia Living Museum marked an exciting milestone with the official ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Wild Care Center on Thursday, November 14, 2024. The event showcased the next generation of visitor experience at the museum. “The Museum built by the community, beloved by the community, is absolutely sustained by the community” remarked Board President Sarah E. Messersmith. “We share the nature of the beautiful state of Virginia through experiential education. With $5.3 million committed by our generous community, the Museum enthusiastically announces the transition to the public phase of our Next Gen: Protect what’s Precious campaign for science achievement.”
Ribbon Cutting additional information:
Newport News Mayor Philip D. Jones led the ribbon cutting along with community leaders Mike and Nancy Petters, Harry and Judy Wason, President Messersmith, Charles W. Wornom, Board of Advisors President, and Executive Director Kleinhample.
Mayor Jones highlighted the transformative impact this facility will have as “An opportunity to inspire curiosity, advance conservation, and strengthen the foundation of science that drives our Peninsula workforce.”
The state-of-the-art Wild Care Center features a transparent Veterinary Hospital and Nutrition Center, offering unprecedented public access to observe science professionals in action. This innovative facility will serve as a living classroom where visitors can witness real-time veterinary procedures, animal care practices, and nutrition standards, creating unique educational opportunities for aspiring science professionals and nature enthusiasts alike.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was followed by guided preview tours of the facility for invited guests and media representatives. The Wild Care Center, which is part of the Museum’s daily experience, opened to the public on November 17 as part of the museum’s 58th birthday celebration.
The Virginia Living Museum is a leader in natural living exhibits! Native Virginia mammals, marine life, reptiles, amphibians, birds, plants and planets are presented in natural ecosystems and honored for their ability to connect people to nature through educational experiences that promote conservation.
Accredited by both the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (living exhibits) and the American Alliance of Museums (non-live collections), the Museum’s high standards are its hallmark, as only fourteen institutions share this designation in the country. Community volunteers outnumber staff by approximately 5:1 for incredible mission delivery. The Museum is a certified Virginia Green attraction dedicated to environmentally friendly practices and education.
Created by the Warwick Rotary Club and Junior League of Hampton Roads in 1966, the Museum is an independent 501c3 organization, a successful public/private partnership with the City of Newport News and all guests. The Virginia Living Museum is built by the community, beloved by the community, sustained by the community.
Located at 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News (I-64, exit 258-A), hours are 9am to 5pm daily. Learn more at thevlm.org, Facebook, Instagram, or call 757-595-1900.
