Jake Corgiat Memorial Sloth Habitat

We are approaching the one year anniversary of the passing of our beautiful son, Jake Corgiat, and we continue to pray for healing and hope. Amidst the grief there is a constant reminder and direction that we embrace daily - Jake’s love of sloths! It is with great pride, love and thankful hearts that we share this exciting 
news with our family, friends and community.  Our local zoo, The Charles Paddock Zoo, is in the beginning stages of planning and building a South American exhibit that will inhabit many species including SLOTHS! The zoo has reached out to our family and we have graciously accepted their invitation to join them in this
amazing project. At this time our family is specifically focusing on the sloth
portion of the exhibit that will be named in Jake's honor. 

Jake was a vibrant and outgoing force of energy. Truly, there was nothing SLOW
about him.  It was his first year in college at NC State that I (his mom) started
teasing him that he was sloth-like. He always seemed to spill food on his clothes
and I would refer to it as algae. His long curly hair was somewhat messy and he 
loved chilling on the couch and being lazy.  I joked with him that the sloth was his
spirit animal and he would laugh and shake his head at me.  Jake was fun and it didnot take long for him to whole heartedly embrace my theory.  I began sending him sloth related care packages. He took a liking to
sloth socks, boxers, blankets, air fresheners, dog toys, posters, decals and candy.  If something had a sloth
on it, I sent it to him! Together, we developed a love  and appreciation for these special
creatures.  We would text sloth slogans and pictures to each other almost daily
and giggle. I promised Jake that when he graduated from college, which would
have been this December 2020, that we would plan a trip to Costa Rica to see the sloths in the wild. This
trip inspired and excited him and made those beautiful blue eyes light up.

Jake will never get to see the sloths and fulfill this dream, however, he would love being with the sloths in spirit and in name at the zoo. It was a place we frequented often when he was growing up as he always had a love for animals. It is my goal to honor Jake’s life, his personality, his smile and his dreams. This is the best 
way I know how to do that. I truly hope this message and project put a smile on your
face. If you are able to contribute, we sincerely appreciate your support and
prayers in keeping our sons memory alive.  My hope is that you, your family and
friends will visit the exhibit in the near future and smile when you see his name
along with these magnificent and kind creatures. My hope is that you will say:  
"Jake Corgiat was a fun loving young man, son, brother, grandson, nephew,
teammate, coworker and friend and I am fortunate to have known him”.  

I love you Jake and you will forever be my favorite sloth. I hope your spirit soars
high up in the canopy. 

We got this! #jrcstrong  

With love, admiration and kindness,

Christie, Scott and Phoebe Corgiat