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Center Stories

  • The Center's Fish Tank

    Origin and History

    Beth Grimes – Flood at Pete’s Fish Tank

  • If you’ve walked the halls at The Childhood League Center in the last 3 decades, you’ve probably seen our fish tank, but there’s a very cool history behind it that not many people know. It starts in the 90s and involves the hard work, dedication, and vision of some very special people.

    Beth Grimes-Flood is a long-time League and Assisting Board member who has supported The Center since the 1980s. At our Merry Go Round fundraising gala in the early 90s, one of the items up for auction was a fish tank. Without having seen it, Beth’s husband Pete put in a bid. He won the tank and promptly donated it to The Center.

    The tank was a part of the South 18th Street location for the entirety of The Center’s time there, maintained regularly thanks to Beth and Pete, who never let The Center see a bill for services. Sadly, Pete passed away in 2004. Beth has continued to pay for the maintenance of the tank and the care of the fish inside to this day. When it came time to break ground on the new, larger building we currently inhabit, she saw how spacious the hallways were and thought “this place needs a fish tank too.” She commissioned a new, larger tank to be built and placed in the main hallway right before the classrooms. All the fish from the original tank were moved to the new tank, where they’ve continued to thrive. The Center dedicated the new tank in honor of Pete. It is officially known as Pete’s Fish Tank.

    Center students watching the fish

    For over 30 years, the fish tank has been a source of awe and joy for our kids. When they see it, their faces light up. It acts as a transition point to our classrooms and a signal to our kids that it’s time to get their minds and their bodies ready for the learning and fun that day will bring. Countless children have enjoyed the tank and its inhabitants over the years, to the point that it’s almost as synonymous with The Center as our logo. Thanks to Beth, that will continue into the foreseeable future.

  • The Caretaker

    Jonathan Burke has maintained The Center’s fish tank for decades

  • Jonathan Burke’s passion has always been fish. It’s a passion that’s taken him from Bahrain to Congo, and from movie sets to right here at The Childhood League Center.

    In the early 90s, Center supporters Beth Grimes-Flood and her husband Pete won a fish tank from the company Jonathan worked for and donated it to The Center. Not long after that, Jonathan started maintaining the tank and caring for the fish inside. It’s a job he’s still doing, and still being appreciated for, over 30 years later. Early on, Jonathan got to know people at The Center and learned about the life-changing services we provide. He’s built tanks for movies and celebrities, but The Center’s mission and the positive feedback from our kids has made his visits to The Center one of his favorite parts of his job.

    Over the years, Jonathan has added fish to the tank, including some that are endangered in the wild. He sees The Center’s current tank, a 300-gallon showpiece he custom built, as a place of conservation for those fish. He also hopes it inspires people, including our kids, to take better care of animals and the environment. The tank itself is its own ecosystem, with new babies being born every spring.

    Jonathan doesn’t plan on retiring any time soon, and the tank is built for the long haul. Every few months he comes to The Center to make sure everything is in working order. He typically comes after school hours, so most of our kids will never meet him, but what he does makes them smile every day.

  • A “virtual bookshelf” with Center publications you’ll need on hand

    Current Publications

     

     

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