Topeka Zoo employee travels to help with another zoo’s hurricane recovery

ASHEVILLE, NC. (WIBW) – An employee of the Topeka Zoo traveled to Asheville, North Carolina to help another zoo affected by Hurricane Helene. 13 NEWS got the chance to speak with the employee who wanted to make a difference in the aftermath.

Jason Wills sacrificed his time off this past Tuesday and Wednesday to help others in a community fourteen hours away. Wills said this is something he was glad to do.

Wills, a maintenance supervisor at the zoo, volunteered to go to Asheville to help with the Western North Carolina Nature Center.

While the animals were safe, and the facility avoided the worst of the damage, Wills and ten others from zoos across the Midwest helped with carpentry work.

Mr. Wills was surprised by the damage but was driven by a need to help rebuild the zoo.

“Zoos are a small family…they serve a great purpose of education and awareness to people,” said Wills. “So, if we were to lose one it would make a great impact. Cameras and stuff do not do it any justice whatsoever. I mean, where houses used to be there, there is no house there. There is just barely a foundation left in some places.”

Due to the damage from Hurricane Helene, the Western North Carolina Nature Center will be closed for the foreseeable future.

If you would like to help the zoo in North Carolina by donating, click here.

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