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Glazers Boost Children's Museum

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2007

TAMPA - The plan came together quickly, over the course of about a month.

Heidi Shimberg, who is leading the effort to raise money for a new Children's Museum, asked Bryan Glazer whether his family might be willing to make a significant donation.
Bryan Glazer called brother Edward Glazer and sister Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, who immediately were on board. So were the other adult children of Malcolm Glazer, owner and president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

'I think it was the quickest $5 million we ever spent in our life,' Edward Glazer said.

That commitment led to an announcement Monday that the Glazer Family Foundation would contribute $5 million to the new Children's Museum, which will officially be named the Glazer Children's Museum. That makes the museum the first building to carry the Glazer name.

It is by far the largest single donation ever made by the Glazer Family Foundation, and a huge boost to the Children's Museum as officials there try to raise millions for a new building.

'There are a couple of momentous days that you dream of, and this is one of those momentous days,' Shimberg said. 'This will now be a reality to all of us. Thank you to the Glazer family.'

The Glazer family established the Glazer Family Foundation in 1999 to focus on charitable and educational causes in the area.

To put the size of the $5 million contribution in perspective, consider that last year, the foundation donated slightly more than a half-million dollars to about three dozen causes, such as the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, United Way and University Community Hospital.

Also consider that according to the foundation's 2005 income tax forms, the group donated about $400,000 to the community. Most of the donations were in the $1,000 to $10,000 range.

So why the Children's Museum for such an outsized gift?

The Glazers said the project 'found them.' They also said that taking their own children to children's museums is a focal point of their family vacations.

'This Children's Museum is going to be first class,' Edward Glazer said. 'We're so excited to be part of it.'

The Children's Museum will move from its home at Lowry Park to the northern edge of Curtis Hixon Park, next to the new art museum. The building design features bright, vibrant colors, meant to draw children inside. Exhibits will be hands-on, allowing children to paddle a canoe, build a house or pretend to be a physician. Key exhibits include Time Travels, Kidsport and Water's Journey.

Groundbreaking on the 54,000-square-foot building is scheduled for August, with an opening planned for fall 2009.

The total cost of the project is estimated at about $25 million, including land donated by the city. The museum is trying to raise $21 million. With the Glazer donation, officials have raised about $9 million, Shimberg said.

The foundation has pledged $1 million a year for each of the next five years, Shimberg said.

Mayor Pam Iorio predicted the Glazer Children's Museum will be the main attraction in a newly designed Curtis Hixon Park.

'You've given us a first-class football team, one that we're proud of,' Iorio said. 'You've given us a first-class Children's Museum, one that we'll be proud of for generations to come.'

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

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