11-year-old raises $5,000 for Battle Creek zoo exhibit

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) - A zoo in Battle Creek is moving closer to having a lion exhibit, thanks to the fundraising of an 11-year-old girl.

Yasmin Pirbhai of Kalamazoo has raised $5,000 for Binder Park Zoo. She tells the Kalamazoo Gazette (http://bit.ly/1yahCuZ ) that she's seen lions in the wild in Africa, and she wants other kids to see them at the zoo.

Yasmin's donation was matched by her parents and Bank of America, raising the contribution to $15,000. Her mother says Yasmin's strategy is simple: Ask someone for money until they say no.

The zoo says it's about halfway toward a $3 million fundraising goal for the lion exhibit. A date for the opening has not been set.

___

Information from: Kalamazoo Gazette, http://www.mlive.com/kalamazoo