BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo was selected to receive 15% of proceeds from wine sales from Fairfield, Conn.-based Ardaso Wine. The company’s CEO, Sonja Narcisse, named the Zoo as a recipient of the company’s corporate giving program beginning in January 2020.
Narcisse says she founded the company with the goal of being a revenue stream for women, children and communities in need, and helping children thrive socially, academically and emotionally. The Zoo fit her corporate mission as a 501(c) (3 ) non-profit, educating 60,000 children each year on Zoo grounds, and thousands more children and adults through Zoomobile visits and offsite education programs. Narcisse joined the Zoo’s Board of Directors in November 2019.
“As Connecticut’s only Zoo, I was impressed with the educational resources that are available for teachers and parents to connect children to science-based education at the Zoo,” said Narcisse. “Zoo Director Gregg Dancho and his staff are incredibly dedicated to the Zoo’s mission.”
Dancho said, “We are grateful for Ardaso Wine’s support, and applaud the company’s charitable giving program that lets local charities benefit from their success. Our heartfelt thanks to Sonja Narcisse for assisting the Zoo in our mission of conservation, education, research and recreation."
Begun in 2016 by Narcisse with a charitable focus on providing a source of revenue to selected non-profit organizations, Ardaso offers wine as well as jewelry, specialty food items, gifts, and chocolate-dipped wine bottles. Purchases made through the company’s website at www.ardaso.com support the Zoo, the Norma Pfriem Breast Care Center, and the Amy Biehl Foundation in South Africa.
The Zoo is grateful to its many members, supporters, and corporate partners that help to educate, delight, and bring animal welfare and conservation to the state of Connecticut. In particular, the Zoo wishes to thank Ardaso Wine for its support.
For more information, visit beardsleyzoo.org.