Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (Selby Gardens) is excited to announce that a fourth, one-million-dollar gift has been secured towards capital needs for Phase I of the Master Plan for its Downtown Sarasota campus. Audrey Robbins and Harry Leopold have made the gift in honor of Audrey’s son, Thomas F. Malone III (Trey), who passed away in 2012.
“As champions of arts and culture in our community, we are proud to support Selby Gardens’ forward thinking Master Plan in honor of Trey,” says Audrey.
The tribute will feature the phrase ‘Lead A Good Life,’ which Trey wrote in his final letter to his family and friends. Audrey and Harry are pleased that “this project will enhance the lives of many in our community.”
“With this generous gift, we cannot be more excited to make our Master Plan a reality,” says Jennifer Rominiecki, president & CEO of Selby Gardens. “We are grateful that Audrey and Harry believe in our transformational plan and recognize its many benefits to the Sarasota region and the world.”
To date, Selby Gardens has raised $40.1 million, which is 94 percent of the $42.5 million needed to implement Phase I of the Master Plan.
The three-phase plan will take several years to complete. Selby Gardens’ trustees, leadership donors and campaign co-chairs Jean Weidner Goldstein, Cornelia Matson and Pauline L. Wamsler are spearheading the fundraising effort, Innovating a Greener Future- Living Inspiration for The Living Museum®: The Campaign for Selby Gardens.
For more information, please contact Lynn H. Bates, lbates@selby.org.