Mom’s Pride & Joy –
Adopt-A-Manatee this Mother’s Day!
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Rebecca Miller (at right) and her mom, Gayle Jones. (Photo courtesy of Anakristen Jones.)
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For further information, contact Janice Nearing,
Director of Public Relations
Phone: (407) 539-0990
E-mail: jnearing@
savethemanatee.org
Note: A high resolution jpeg (300 dpi) of a manatee image as well as a photo of Rebecca Miller and her mom are available upon request.
For Immediate Release
Last year in honor of Mother’s Day, Rebecca Miller from northern Virginia adopted an endangered manatee for her mom, Gayle, also a Virginia resident. “I knew my mom loved manatees and that she’d be extremely pleased to receive a gift that would help them,” said Rebecca.
From the 32 manatees featured in Save the Manatee Club’s three Florida adoption programs, Rebecca chose Howie. For Rebecca’s $25 tax-deductible donation, the Club sent her mom an adoption certificate, a color photo of playful, popular Howie, his biography, and a fact-filled handbook. The adoption also included a subscription to the Club’s quarterly newsletter, The Manatee Zone, and the bi-monthly e-newsletter, Paddle Tales. And this year for Mother’s Day, each new member who joins the Adopt-A-Manatee program online for a $35 tax-deductible donation, will receive a colorful beaded bracelet with manatee charm, along with a cute, plush 8-inch manatee. Give these to mom along with her manatee adoption, or keep one, or both for yourself!
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Each adoption comes with a photo, biography, and membership handbook, and a $35 adoption includes a free plush manatee and a bracelet with a manatee charm. |
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Rebecca, a third-year biology major at college, discovered manatees with her mom and family when she was a youngster vacationing in Key Largo. While there, they observed manatees in the wild and Rebecca was disturbed by the number of manatees who were scarred from injuries caused by motorboats. She has cared about them ever since. “My concerns are that manatees must keep their endangered status so they can continue to get the attention they need, and Florida boaters need to slow down to reduce manatee injuries and deaths,” she explained.
The population of the slow-moving aquatic marine mammals is estimated to be about 3,000 concentrated year-round in Florida. Manatees are listed as endangered at the state, federal, and international levels.
“A record number of manatee deaths in 2006, and a high level in 2007, is dismaying and unacceptable to Floridians and all those around the world who care about these unique and defenseless animals,” said Patrick Rose, Executive Director of Save the Manatee Club.
An active volunteer for a zoo in DC and a wildlife center in Virginia, Rebecca has also adopted two Yorkies and a cat. “I have decided to devote my life to animal welfare,” she said. “Once I graduate, I would love to work for an organization like Save the Manatee Club, who is truly devoted to the animals they work so hard to help protect.”
The Club’s Adopt-A-Manatee program helps to fund education and public awareness endeavors; research, rescue, rehabilitation, and release projects; and advocacy and legal efforts to help protect manatees and their habitat. Save the Manatee Club, a national, nonprofit advocacy organization, was founded in 1981 by signer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett and former U.S. Senator and Florida Governor, Bob Graham.
For more information about manatees and adopting one as a Mother’s Day gift for all the “moms” you know – mothers-in-law, foster moms, stepmothers, grandmothers, friends, relatives, sisters, guardians – contact Save the Manatee Club at 500 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland, FL 32751, call 1-800-432-JOIN (5646), or visit their web site at www.savethemanatee.org where you can also sign up.
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