Celebrate spring with Save the Manatee

Spring is full of wonders.  For those looking to delight family and friends with Easter and spring gifts this year, Save the Manatee Club suggests surprising them with manatee adoptions.  

Sue and Glen Sansom from Pennsylvania have adopted manatees for all four of their grandchildren over the past few years.  The eldest, Daniel and Katie, received their adoptions first, and the youngest, Emma and Ava, were given adoptions last Easter. “The kids were excited to have a real live manatee adoptee plus a stuffed toy to play with,” says Sue.  

             A gift adoption from Save the Manatee Club costs $25, is tax-deductible, and includes a color photo, biography, and adoption certificate of a real endangered manatee living in Florida.  Photos and a list of the manatees available for adoption can be found on the Club’s website at http://www.savethemanatee.org/adoptees.htm.  Also included with the gift adoption is a membership handbook filled with photos, facts, and information, plus subscriptions to the Club’s official quarterly newsletter, The Manatee Zone, and the bi-monthly e-newsletter, Paddle Tales.  Shipping is free within the United States.  For $35, an 8-inch plush manatee is also included in the adoption package. 

Save the Manatee Club’s mission is to protect imperiled manatees and their aquatic habitat for future generations.  The public’s support, which includes funds from the adoption program, helps with the Club’s education and conservation efforts.  A 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization, Save the Manatee Club was established in 1981 by singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett, and former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham.  The Club works closely with federal, state, and local governments, as well as with other conservation partners and the public, at the grass roots level, and supports conservation measures based on the best scientific data available.  The Club also conducts research; sponsors rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts; supports land acquisition; advocates for improved manatee and aquatic habitat protection; and assists conservation efforts in other countries.

“I’ve been interested in manatees ever since our visits to Homosassa, Florida about 20 years ago,” explains Sue.  “They are such peaceful creatures and I’m happy to help support the cause to keep them protected.  Manatees can’t speak for themselves, so I’m glad Save the Manatee Club speaks for them.”

To adopt a real manatee, and to learn more about these fascinating marine mammals, visit Save the Manatee Club’s website at www.savethemanatee.org, or call 1-800-432-JOIN (5646).  Also, sign up for the Club’s free E-Newsletter, and watch manatees in their natural habitat on the Club’s Blue Spring webcams at manatv.org. 

You can follow the Club using Twitter http://twitter.com/savethemanatee and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-the-Manatee-Club/66640207299.