Cooper Pest Solutions provides grant for children to visit Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion
Lawrenceville, NJ – Cooper Pest Solutions, a leader in pest control industry for over 60 years, recently implemented a grant program in conjunction with the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion to allow children the chance to gain a better understanding of insects and their value to the environment. The Cooper Grant provides children with an opportunity to learn about insects in a fun and engaging way.
The Cooper Grant is an annual contest that children can apply for and if selected, will receive travel and admission costs for the Insectarium. The Philadelphia Insectarium is an institution that is dedicated to education featuring its giant new Butterfly Pavilion and three floors of exhibits on biodiversity where learning about insects can be fun!
“We want to help the communities where we provide service by providing children an opportunity to learn about insects but in a fun environment,” said Glen Jacobsen, Marketing Director for Cooper Pest Solutions. “We feel the Philadelphia Insectarium is a perfect fit to make this possible and we are grateful to be able to give back to the communities we serve.”
Lauren Darkes, Marketing Director for the Philadelphia Insectarium said they selected the winners based on merit and need, which is why they selected the Woods Services as the first recipients for the grant.
“Woods Services provides education, home and community support, health and wellness therapies, and vocational and adult day support to hundreds of individuals ranging in ages from childhood to adulthood, who are afflicted by autism, a developmental disability, brain injury, emotional and behavioral challenges, and Prader Willi Syndrome,” Darkes said. “These students would not have access to this type of life science education without the opportunity the Cooper Grant gave them.”
According to Darkes, the children from Woods Services thoroughly enjoyed their stay and loved learning about all the different types of insects featured at the institute.
“The children really did enjoy the experience, offering honest and positive feedback throughout their visit,” Darkes said. “With so many exhibits to see and interact with, the students were engaged and were enthusiastic participants!”
Darkes explained that allowing the children from Woods Services to attend the Insectarium, they were able to experience something they may have never had a chance to without Cooper’s grants.
“For the Woods kids, it meant a chance to experience a once in a lifetime interactive educational program,” she said. “The hope is some of the kids will take that experience to heart and start a lifelong career in an environmental science field. After they spent time in our tranquil rainforest Butterfly Pavilion, I saw a lot of smiling faces and heard our staff answering a lot of questions!”
Cooper Pest Solutions hopes to give out more grants for the upcoming school year and encourages children, and educators alike, to apply for the grant.
“At Cooper Pest Solutions, we are dedicated to giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we created the Cooper Grant,” Jacobsen said. “We’re looking to make a positive impact on children, who could quite possibly be future entomologists. We’re glad that we can provide children the opportunity to experience and learn about insects in a fun environment.”
If you’re interested in applying for the grant, contact Lauren Darkes at 215-335-9500 or contact the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion via their website.
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