A Whole Lot of Love –
Give Personalized Real Manatee Adoptions on Valentine’s Day!
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Club member and huge Jimmy Buffett fan, New Yorker Jim Herendeen, the "father" of Save the Manatee Club's popular adoptee, Margarito. (Photo courtesy of Heather Herendeen.)
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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 Jim Herendeen in his Margaritaville/manatee-themed garage in New York, are available upon request.
Also, ask for the Club’s new print Valentine’s Day adoption public service announcement, available in three sizes.
For Immediate Release
It could be that many of Cupid’s arrows are “green” tipped. Seems like more Valentine’s Day shoppers are searching for environmentally-friendly gifts – ones that come straight from the heart – like “green” manatee gift adoptions from Save the Manatee Club.
Take for example, elementary school teacher Heather Herendeen from New York, who, this past Valentine’s Day, decided to adopt Margarito from the Club’s Adopt-A-Manatee® program for her husband, Jim, a music teacher at the same school as his wife.
“Jim has everything, and he feels most gifts are just a waste of money” said Heather. “Since Jim loves manatees, I thought it would make a unique gift, plus do something good for our animal friends.”
The $25 tax-deductible gift adoptions from Save the Manatee Club include a color photo of a real Florida manatee. People get to select one or more adoptees from 32 manatees featured in the Club’s three Florida adoption programs at Blue Spring State Park, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, and in the Tampa Bay area. Also included in the package is an adoption certificate, biography, membership handbook, subscriptions to the Club’s official quarterly newsletter, The Manatee Zone, and the bi-monthly e-newsletter, Paddle Tales, a year’s membership in Save the Manatee Club, a personalized Valentine’s Day gift card, and free shipping within the United States. Or for $35, each new member who adopts online will also receive a plush manatee toy.
Jim has Margarito’s photo and adoption certificate hanging up in his garage which the couple has transformed into their own “Margaritaville/Key West” themed-room for entertaining. There’s also a manatee mural painted by a neighbor, and various signs and other manatee paraphernalia adorn the room. “I specifically chose Margarito for Jim as he loves Jimmy Buffett,” explains Heather. “Little did I realize at the time of the adoption that Jimmy Buffett is one of the founders of the organization. That ended up being a big bonus!”
Funds from the adoption program help Save the Manatee Club protect endangered manatees and their aquatic habitat for future generations. To accomplish this, the Club raises public awareness; educates; sponsors research, rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts; supports land acquisition; promotes aquatic habitat protection; works for improved protection measures; and supports conservation efforts in other countries. There are only about 3,800 manatees left in Florida waters. Manatees face ever-increasing threats mostly from watercraft-related mortality and loss of winter warm-water habitat.
This Valentine’s Day, people will be connecting with loved ones, and many will choose to express how much they care about the world around them in the gifts they bestow on one another. “The manatee adoption gift was special because it showed that my wife Heather shares the same compassion and concerns that I do about the welfare of manatees,” said Jim.
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