SeaWorld San Antonio Blog » Christmas Miracles

Paying it Forward the SeaWorld Way

Katie Preuss — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:29:30 +0000

First of all, let me just take a moment to say thanks to all of your wonderful stories about Paying It Forward over the holidays (Check out the comments on our PIF page).

Just because the holiday season has come to an end, doesn’t mean holiday spirit doesn’t linger on. SeaWorld San Antonio takes the opportunity to pay it forward to organizations regularly. A few non-profit organizations that SeaWorld has relationships with are Big Brothers Big Sisters, San Antonio Food Bank, St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen and United Way.

In recent years, SeaWorld San Antonio compiled a team for Bowl for Kids' Sake, an annual Big Brothers Big Sisters event, to raise funds for the mentoring program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas

Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas (also on Twitter and Facebook) is headquartered in San Antonio and serves the San Antonio community and surrounding counties by providing mentoring relationships for children, giving them a big brother or big sister to guide them to positive achievement as they grow.

Amy Persyn, Event Specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters, helps raise money to support the matches between SeaWorld team members and the students. She said it’s most rewarding to see matches take place. “We hear feedback from struggling parents who are grateful to have their children in the program and from matches who have been paired up. It is great to hear the story behind the matches and how the bigs and littles were brought together.”

The San Antonio Food Bank

The San Antonio Food Bank (also on Twitter and Facebook) provides a supply of free food to 440 different agencies that help the needy in the San Antonio community and 16 surrounding counties. They lend a helping hand to families and individuals struck by homelessness, substance abuse, employment, broken families, and much more.

Team Members help out by boxing up food donations to the San Antonio Food Bank

The park is proud to help such a great organization. In fact, this last year we participated in San Antonio Food Bank’s “30 Ways in 30 Days” to fight hunger campaign, where we hosted a canned food drive offering admission discounts to park guests for every ten cans they donated.

Eric. S. Cooper, executive director of the San Antonio Food Bank said, “The San Antonio Food Bank is thrilled to be partnering with SeaWorld San Antonio, an organization committed to bettering the lives of those in our area struggling with hunger and food insecurity.”

The Society of St. Vincent DePaul

The Society of St. Vincent DePaul is a group of individuals who provide spiritual and physical assistance to those in need by serving nutritious meals to the hungry everyday.

SeaWorld San Antonio sends a group of team members to volunteer at the St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen several times throughout the year.

Sylvia Najera, kitchen manager at the soup kitchen, says volunteers are needed daily to prepare and serve the food, especially during the holidays; there is always something to be done. Sylvia describes sitting down for a meal as a small comfort in the day, “at least they can sit down for a meal and relax.”

United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County

The United Way (also on Twitter and Facebook) is a worldwide effort consisting of 45 countries and over 1,300 organizations right here in the United States. They work to improve education, income, health care and to build a stronger community.

SeaWorld San Antonio has partnered with the United Way and helped raise money for the community through projects, silent auctions and generous donations. This past year’s campaign was lead by the park’s Zoological Department who set a goal to raise $50,000, and in the end they exceeded their goal by more then 10 percent. Suzanne Straw, a member of the Zoological Department, said she was personally proud of the department’s planning efforts.

I’m proud our park lends a helping hand whenever we can. Have you ever volunteered your time to any of these organizations or projects in your community? The donation of your time is worth a lot more than you might imagine.

“Who Knows What Miracles…”

LesliePopiel — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:24:27 +0000

In the midst of the holiday chaos, I find myself easily lost in the hustle and bustle of shopping, baking and decorating while maintaining a full work schedule. Even at work, I get caught up with the many tasks to be accomplished and lose sight of what the holidays are really about. A small visitor recently reminded me to take a step back, slow down, and count the blessings that are all around me. I was watching through the eyes of a child…

I love this time of year because we celebrate the season at Shamu Theatre with “Shamu Christmas Miracles,” a fun-filled, action-packed, very festive show. During this show, we invite children to join in the fun and interact with the whales through the glass.

One lucky boy or girl gets the chance to step up to the glass with a trainer to give Shamu signals to perform behaviors, such as waving and dancing around in a circle. Interacting with a certain little boy is one of my fondest memories from this holiday season at the park.

The excitement and wonder was written all over this child’s face. His smile was huge, his enthusiasm contagious. In that moment, I felt the joy of being a kid myself. Like I said, it was contagious! My own smile grew and grew and I laughed as watched him waving and dancing with Shamu. I still have a silly grin plastered across my face.

Seeing a child’s expression when he sees Shamu for the first time or watching her amazement as the whales leap through the air reminds me daily of the dreams I had a child. My hope is that children young and old watching “Miracles” will remember their dreams and believe that miracles still happen.

Have a Happy New Year!

SeaWorld’s New Year’s Eve Twilight Party: Kids Allowed

Tim Morrow — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:23:35 +0000

In 2008 we brought the holidays back to SeaWorld San Antonio. After all who doesn’t love a great event, especially at Christmas time? As we continue to grow our events we are always looking for another reason to throw a party!

One thing we haven’t done before that will become another great SeaWorld tradition is a New Year’s Eve party. Since SeaWorld is the place for families to visit and create memories the park thought it would put on an incredible event for our guests of all ages to enjoy! The park wanted an event specifically for families with younger children and when discussions began about New Years, we quickly decided it was something the park had to do.

As we worked on the plans for the event we wanted to focus on the little ones which is why SeaWorld San Antonio’s New Year’s Eve Twilight Party will be celebrated at 8:00 p.m. complete with a countdown and an extraordinary fireworks show choreographed to fun and moving music.

In addition to our world class shows the San Antonio Fire Department will be at the park with a giant fire truck and Sparky the dog during the afternoon, and the San Antonio Police will be at the park with a police car and will be providing parents with child ID kits! As it gets dark our gift shops will have a ton of great New Year’s Eve glow products that are sure to be fun and festive, and our Chefs are putting on an incredible reservation only dinner with VIP seating for the fireworks.

In order to keep the party going, the park is open with our Christmas Celebration through Jan. 3, 2010, and yes, your Fun Cards and annual passes are good through Jan. 3. I hope lots of families come out to enjoy our first annual New Year’s Eve Twilight Party and make it a fun and safe tradition for many years to come! I can’t wait!

Christmas underwater

NickIreland — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:13:06 +0000

Christmas Underwater with Santa and Elf Diver Bailey

So, did you ever wonder what Santa Claus likes to do in his free time? Well, he loves to SCUBA dive of course.

This December he traded in his sleigh and eight tiny reindeer for an underwater mask and eight spotted eagle rays over at Sharks/The Coral Reef at SeaWorld San Antonio. This is where the park celebrates Christmas underwater following the coral reef feeding shows.

Also, Santa and elf divers hand-feed over 800 Indo-Pacific reef fishes and the other stars of the show, the spotted eagle rays, one of the largest species of stingray around.

Did you know that spotted eagle rays have been known to reach a gargantuan size of over 500 pounds and eight feet across from the tip of one wing-like pectoral fin to the other? They possess several venomous barbs (usually 2-6) at the base of their tail, used to fend off would-be predators, like sharks. Of course, they are quite docile when not threatened, so they make a perfect companion for Santa as he stops by to pay a visit to our guests.

Often our underwater Santa will even swim around to take some pictures with you. The whole crew of elf divers love to share stories of our amazing animals and take pictures with you and the big guy himself, Santa!

Christmas Miracles: At SeaWorld We Can’t Outgive Our Guests – The Story of One Extraordinary Family

Katie Preuss — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:57:54 +0000

It was just by chance that Catherine Brown, Senior Trainer for Interaction Programs, was at the front of the park when she came across a family with two very disappointed boys. The Herndon family was at the reservation center trying to purchase an interaction program package when they were told that it wasn’t possible because their children were too young. After Catherine saw how upset the boys were, she came up with a solution all her own. “Would you like to meet my friend Elrod?” she asked the family of four.

Elrod Congratulates Joe and Catherine

Elrod is a 500-pound sea lion who stars in the park’s comical Clyde and Seamore show.

After spending some time at Sea Lion Stadium, Catherine took them for a private behind-the-scenes tour of Beluga Stadium to meet some of our beluga whales.

I asked Catherine if this was something they do often, just picking a family on a whim. She pointed at Joe Miller, Associate Supervisor for Interaction Programs, and said “He’s the one who taught me to do it. The first time I saw him reach out to a couple of guests he made me cry. It’s something simple for us to do just to brighten up a guest’s day. Anybody would have done it for this sweet family, Joe and I just happened to be the lucky people to do it.”

It wasn’t far into the tour when Joe and Catherine discovered that the father, Archie Herndon, was soon to be deployed to Iraq to serve in the United States Army. This family’s trip to SeaWorld was a final outing before he left that turned into an experience they would never forget.

For Joe and Catherine, just being able to help create this memorable moment was enough of a thank you, but Archie wanted to extend a more meaningful thanks. Not too long after they visited the park, Joe and Catherine each received a package in the mail containing a United States flag with a certificate of authenticity stating:

“This flag was officially flown in support of American Forces by 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3d Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Mosul, Iraq at 1702 hours on the 24th day of September 2009.”

This gesture was one that Catherine and Joe will never forget.

“It’s just a huge honor that he gave us these flags.” said Joe Miller.

Editor’s Note: This post is a part of our Christmas Miracles series where we highlight how ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference. Be a part of the movement. Download a Miracle Card and pay it forward. If you have an extraordinary story, contact us and we may feature you on the blog. Make a difference this season!

SeaWorld Miracle Card: Create a Christmas Miracle by Paying It Forward: Share Your Story for Chance to Win

Kami Huyse — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:28:31 +0000

Today we launched our Christmas Miracles Card program at the San Antonio Business Media and Public Relations (BMPR) tweetup. It is just one way that we can participate with our community to make this holiday season the best ever.

You can see Dan Decker, our General Manager at SeaWorld San Antonio explaining the program in the video below (courtesy of @writeontime). Then be sure to go to our special Christmas Miracles page to download a Miracle Card and spread Christmas cheer, as well as get a chance to win a 4-pack of tickets (drawings on December 18 and 25 and January 1).

So, what are you waiting for? Go and Pay It Forward!

Photo of “Miracle Card” by Colleen Pence from the iPhone (@colleenpence)

Angels at SeaWorld Pay It Forward

Katie Preuss — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:53:34 +0000

Did you know that SeaWorld team members are paying it forward during the holiday season?

As they walk through Main Security to start their day at work, they can’t help but see a beautiful Christmas tree in the corner. This tree isn’t just to keep us in the holiday spirit, it serves a bigger cause. It gives team members the opportunity to pay it forward this time of year by donating a gift to a child who otherwise wouldn’t receive one.

I took some time to sit down with Peggy Zellmer, an Accounting Coordinator here at SeaWorld San Antonio. She has helped out with our Angel Tree the last couple of years, and knows all of the details about the donations.

SeaWorld has been donating to different organizations using the Angel Tree method for over ten years and this year the tree is benefiting families of Becoming Apparent. This non-profit organization offers families resources to transition through the court systems and reunites families by offering parenting services, coping with moving-on classes, and children school and holiday programs. Based out of San Antonio, they smooth the transition process by educating parents on how the legal system works in Bexar county and surrounding areas.

So, how does this Angel Tree work? The tree is covered with paper angels that SeaWorld team members simply pick off the tree, flip over and see the age and gender of the child that will receive a gift from them. So far 70 angels have been picked! Are you paying it forward this holiday season?