Save The Manatee Club Inc

I began by volunteering in the office doing various jobs such as stuffing envelopes. Recently, I volunteered for the first time at a festival and really got to see what it was all about. If you are looking for a great organization to be apart of, while seeing what a difference it makes, Save the Manatee Club is for you! Great, people to volunteer with as well!

Definitely one of the most fun, and hardworking non-profit programs out there for animals! You don't even have to be a local to be a member or a volunteer or adopt! Check them out today, and see what you can do to be apart of a great team and for a good cause!

I became a Save the Manatee volunteer after observing a recently released manatee, Pixie, in Blue Springs. Pixie ended up back in captivity for rehabilitation and I wanted to get involved and do what I could to help.
I am so impressed with SMC's recent advocacy for more sanctuaries in Three Sister's Springs and advocacy against the proposed downlisting of manatees from the Endangered Species list.
I appreciate their partnerships with other organizations who are providing rescue, rehabilitation and release of injured manatees.
The website is very user friendly and provides a lot of educational information as well as webcams and links to track the tagged manatees.

SMC attends events to promote awareness and education and works to change policy for continued protections. I am honored to be a part of that.

Last year, I started volunteering with Save the Manatee Club. I care deeply about the potential loss of all the beautiful species of animals that took billions of years to evolve alongside us. As a resident of Florida, I can do something directly to help a beloved species here that is threatened. Save the Manatee Club is a great group of caring individuals who rescue and help to rehabilitate injured manatees while educating the public about how to protect them. Love it!

It was when I purchased my home in Tarpon Springs, Florida in 1991 that I first became acquainted with manatees. I was totally captivated when I viewed them gathering in the bayou. As an educator of Second Graders for the past 49 years, I realized that I had to take the message of manatee survival to my children. Since 1991 my classes have composed beautiful poems in honor of these gentle giants and sent them to Maitland, Florida for all to read and enjoy. I am so proud of the fact that my last twenty-three classes are out in the world spreading the word about manatees and their fight for survival. They have learned that it is our responsibility to do whatever we can to preserve them for future generations. Having my class included in the documentary "Before It's Too Late" help make this message abundantly clear. The Save the Manatee Club and its efforts have been instrumental in helping me teach my children to be compassionate and empathetic towards others. These are the life lessons one should cherish. Each year my class also adopts two manatees and contributes to this worthwhile organization. Many of the children have also adopted on their own. Janice Nearing has been my contact at Save the Manatees and has been supportive of my efforts to present the story of manatees and the active role we must play to save them. I encourage all to join and together what a difference we can make!

Michele Manos, Forest Hills, New York

I supported Save the Manatee Club as a member for years. The day my husband and I had our permanent address in Florida I applied to volunteer. I knew it would be a rewarding experience, and I have not been disappointed. Best of all, I am helping Manatees!

As a most loyal manatee devotee, I am so grateful to have an organization like Save the Manatee Club (SMC) working to protect manatees. For nearly two decades, I have volunteered, contributed financially, and/or consumed their information. I am always impressed with the team at SMC, their resourceful efforts, their knowledge, and their thoughtfulness. SMC has achieved a dynamic that is constantly rejuvenating and inspiring. I appreciate how thoroughly they communicate and strive to work with all those concerned to determine viable solutions. I hope you too will support Save the Manatee Club.

As a USCG licensed captain and an avid boater, I am continuously infuriated by the lack of awareness the boating community pays helpless sea creatures such as manatee. If it weren't for the continuous education efforts of this organization and its numerous volunteers one wonders if there would be any of these docile giants left to grace our planet.

The people are great to work for and it helping saving the environment and the manatees.

My experience working with Save The Manatee club was great from the first day volunteering with the club. I have been volunteering for around 2 years and it has been always a very rewarding experience. My husband and have gone on events together and have fallen in love with the manatees we've gotten the great privilege to see.

The organization has been great to work for and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone!

My wife and I joined this organization about two years ago in the hope that it would be a fun and rewarding hobby for us. Not only did that prove to be true, we also fell in love with the manatees we got to encounter at some of our events. They're such lovely gentle creatures that deserve our protection!

The event coordinator, Janice, is very responsive, helpful and has been a joy to volunteer for. I would recommend this organization to absolutely anyone with time and a bit of heart!

I have been working with Save the Manatee Club for over 14 years as an producer and designer of their collateral materials. The entire staff is dedicated, talented and most of all super friendly! It has been a true joy working with this organization who is completely devoted to saving the manatees!

Eleven years ago I came up with an idea to host a 5K run that would raise money for manatees. Although I live in Michigan, the Save the Manatee Club has been encouraging and supportive during my event. I have had the opportunity to visit the Club numerous times and I was amazed to see such a small staff, doing tremendous amounts of work with limited funds. Many paid employees donate personal time to support manatee causes and volunteers are always welcomed, needed and appreciated. Money raised is used directly for manatee legislation and education, rescue, and rehabilitation. I know the money I raise and donate makes a difference. I can't say enough about the Club! I look forward to continuing my volunteering experience and highly recommend the Save the Manatee Club!

I have been volunteering with Save the Manatee for many years. The whole group of volunteers are dedicated, upbeat and LOVE the manatees. Everybody works together as a team, helping each other to help the manatees. We are a group of hard working, smiling faces coming together for a compassionate cause. Yah! Save the manatees and have some fun while doing it. Nothing could be more rewarding!

As a previous and current volunteer and manatee advocate, adopter, and collector of all things manatee, I love volunteering for the causes that we stand for at Save-the-Manatee Club. We go into schools and promote/advocate for out favorite ocean mammal, we have booths at important festivals, events, schools, colleges, etc. We all work together for the common goal of saving manatees; whether if it is calling in an abandoned calf, making boaters aware of manatees swimming, letting people know not to feed, water, or ride the manatees, and just letting people know what manatees are, how they can help save them, and what they can do to help save our gentle sea cows.

This club does so much and I love that it is focused on one animal rather than a bunch. Sometimes non-profits lose track of what they are really working for, Save-the-Manatee Club is just that; a non-profit advocating and working towards the cause of saving manatees.

I first became acquainted with manatees when a friend took me canoeing on the Crystal River. I had never been in a canoe before and had never seen a manatee before so it was quite a day. I started collecting manatee memorabilia soon after that because I became fascinated with the creatures. That collection has grown to over 100 items including books, magazines, figurines, pictures and frames. Each year for about ten years now I have exhibited my collection at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, FL on their Collector's Day. In addition to talking to people about the collection, I hand out info given me by SMC so that others can learn about manatees and their problems.
My specialty is directing the attention of youngsters to the manatees. I have done several presentations at this same museum for their Dr. Discover program. These consisted of a movie, exercises that a manatee might do (barrel rolls, using their fins to change direction when they are swimming and munching on sea grass). After this I would read them a story and then we would do some related crafts. I got very good feedback from the children and the museum personnel. For several years I did programs for the Extended Day Head Start programs. I used the same methods but brought the presentation down to their level. Other times I have met other volunteers at festival days and present info and spent a lot of time talking to those who strolled by. As usual I tried to speak with as many children as I could.

I have been volunteering with Save the Manatee Club for a little over two years now, and I really enjoy it. I participate in festivals and education tables that allow me to help raise awareness of issues affecting manatees, raise money for the club, and learn a lot myself. The group that I have worked with is a lot of fun, we are passionate about manatees and other issues that impact them, and we get to work at beautiful locations like Blue Spring State Park. I have walked in holiday parades and even manned a table at the roller derby, and I love it! It never feels like work, and it feels great helping a good cause.

My wife and I have been actively involved with the Save the Manatee Club for the last decade. The staff is extremely passionate, working toward helping manatees. A very fiscally responsible organization, money raised throughout the year is used for manatees. Great volunteer opportunity.

I have been one of the volunteers at the Save the Manatee Club since April of 2014, and I have had nothing but great experiences with them. The employees are always so grateful of the time that I spend volunteering and never hold back to express their gratitude. This organization is filled with very passionate people who are in love with these animals and they do everything they can to help out. I am going to college for marine biology, so I thought helping out at this organization would broaden my experiences greatly, and it surely has! I have now had the opportunity of a lifetime to help out at Blue Springs with a baby manatee, all because of Save the Manatee Club. I can't wait to keep on growing with this organization, and getting hands on knowledge of how to keep manatees safe in our waters.

I first fell in love with manatees when I was 5 years old when my mom told me they were mistaken for mermaids. I then adopted my first manatee, Star, from Save the Manatee Club in fourth grade and have been an advocate for manatee awareness ever since. The club does an amazing job educating the public about manatees and proper "manatee etiquette". There are so many great ways to get involved even if you don't live in Florida!

When I moved to Florida 10 years ago I decided that I wanted to volunteer with a nature-oriented organization. Nature and outdoor activities have always been important to me and I saw this period of my life as a great time to give back to causes I felt were worthwhile and which made a difference to many lives-- animal and human alike! I read about the Save the Manatee Club and decided to try some volunteering with them. I find manatees very interesting and also very Florida-based so it fit into my plan to work with local causes. My first volunteering experience was working the Manatee Festival at Blue Spring Park in Orange City. There I met Janice, the director and her husband as well as a number of other dedicated volunteers. I worked all day Saturday and Sunday and I was so impressed with these active, interested people who dedicate so much of their time and energy to educating people about manatees and their needs. Over the next several years, I regularly volunteered at festivals all over the state and each time I found that the volunteers were very knowledgeable and hard working with a great dedication to the cause of saving the manatees in Florida. I like that the volunteering schedule is flexible and I can volunteer for activities that are of particular interest to me. As a former teacher, I mostly enjoy the activities that involve educating children and young people. It has been very rewarding watching students-- from pre-schoolers to college students-- gain an understanding and appreciation for manatees and their environment. The enthusiasm of the members of the Save the Manatee Club has made volunteering a great experience in every way.

Save the Manatee Club is a wonderful organization to volunteer with because they genuinely care for the well being of the Florida manatee. Their outreach and education efforts are extensive and effective. I've been a volunteer for about five years and will continue to be one because of my own desire to help educate people about the needs of these special animals and because I enjoy being part of this organization. Every volunteer that I've met, and there are some who've been volunteering longer than I have, cares deeply about manatees. The staff with whom I am in contact is always helpful and seems dedicated to helping manatees.

If you have a love for the manatee, or just enjoy helping to save a species. Save the manatee club is who comes first in my book.my wife and I decided to help after witnessing the plight of the manatee, we researched deep into places to help and Save the Manatee came up on top. Since, we have not turned our back on the one time. We have seen every bit of our time be beneficial to the manatees.

Four years ago I was inspired to seek information on how I could help save the manatees. After talking to an amazing Save the Manatee Club volunteer at the annual Crystal River Manatee Festival, my husband and I applied to be an outreach volunteer in our area. Our first event was the Wetlands Festival in Christmas, Florida and since then we've done 40+ events all over Florida, talking to anyone that will listen about manatees, how they can help them, and the extraordinary things Save the Manatee Club is doing to help. A magnificent organization to volunteer for, the people are passionate, helpful, and inspiring. As just a humble little nonprofit office in Maitland, Florida, this organization reached across the globe for the gentle manatees with support for the protection, rehabilitation, research, and prosperity of this magical marine mammal. A great choice for anyone looking to donate their time!

I have been involved with Save the Manatee Club for the last three years and recently began volunteering to increase public awareness of all the wonderful things this organization does to help manatees. Save the Manatee Club is a phenomenal organization that not only directly helps the endangered West Indian Manatee, but also provides a plethora of general knowledge, public awareness, and educational materials designed for the public, teachers, and students. As a teacher I have been provided with a plethora of excellent educational materials that align with all state and Common Core Standards. The staff have been truly a pleasure to work with and are extremely helpful when it comes to volunteering, especially since I am out of state. I would recommend this organization to anyone who wants their time or dollars to go directly to their stated mission.

Approximately 23 years ago I was looking for a Valentine's Day gift for my husband. A small write-up in the newspaper talked about the gift of a manatee adoption, and I thought that was the perfect Valentine's Day present. Through that contact with Save the Manatee Club and their newsletters, my husband and I learned about manatees and their perilous and fragile existence, and we wanted to help in any way we could. We signed up as volunteers and were provided all the literature and facts we would need to staff a table at various events. As of February of this year, we are both still volunteering for Save the Manatee Cllub when there are events in our area, and we truly enjoy staffing these events together. Janice Nearing at SMC is especially helpful in furnishing all materials and information needed for events. We will continue to volunteer for this organization as long as we are able.

I have been a volunteer for the Save the Manatee Club since 1997. When I first started, people would come to my table and ask "What is that animal" or the kids would say, "that is a really cute walrus or seal". With continuing education and awareness from groups like Save the Manatee Club, it has been a total turnaround, and almost everyone, including the children, who come to my table, know about Manatees, and share their stories with me. It is amazing how much the kids know and absorb and want to share their knowledge with us. Save the Manatee Club has been instrumental in getting this information out about this endangered animal. I always look forward to attending the festivals, fiestas, and nature events to help spread the word about my favorite marine mammal.

I have been a donor for about 10 years and a volunteer for about 7 years (since moving to Florida). There are a couple reason I am involved:

Manatees and other aquatic animals need and deserve our protections. They are just trying to survive in a very difficult environment. They really are some of the most helpless and dependent creatures in existence. The way we treat them is an indication of our stewardship of the planet.

In addition, manatees are an indication of the overall health of the state of Florida and the Caribbean. People come here the world over for our beautiful water. If we can't sustain native animals that have been here for millennia that is a bad sign for the overall condition of out state.

I have been volunteering for Save The Manatee Club for about six years. During this time I've had the opportunity to get to know some of the staff, including Executive Director Pat Rose. The staff of Save the Manatee Club is a small group of very passionate and hardworking people who fight tirelessly to protect manatees and their habitat. I've been blessed know these people and to be involved with their cause.

If you're looking to support an organization that both positively impacts this generation AND future generations, you've picked the right one! As a volunteer for over 15 years with Save the Manatee Club, let me explain some of those impacts. By the way, I didn't just fall into this effort ... I sought out and trained for this specific volunteer position when I saw the huge positive difference that Save the Manatee Club was making toward preserving this magnificent mammal species and teaching thousands of people each year the responsibilities incurred as stewards of our planet.

Some life-changing experiences I have seen while volunteering in the education outreach program provide some examples. Several years ago I was speaking with a young couple who had just moved to Florida from the Midwest. They had never really heard of manatees, but, were very interested in the many programs offered through Save the Manatee Club. They not only became our primary volunteers, but Emily is now majoring in nature photography and Todd has created an app to identify manatees by their markings!

Another time, I was manning our education outreach booth at the Crystal River Manatee Festival when a little girl approached with her parents. She was about 7 or 8. She decided that for her birthday party that year, she didn't want any presents, but rather asked for donations for the Save the Manatee Club. She brought the money to our booth rolled up with a rubber band around it. As fate would have it, our Club co-founder, Helen Spivey, was there to thank the girl and pose for their picture together. As you can imagine, there wasn't a dry eye in that tent that day. You might have guessed, she’s going to do the same thing for her birthday next year.

Anyway, if you've read this far, then you're probably a person like me, who wants to give back in ways with positive impact. When you check out the website at savethemanatee.org you'll also see the many other projects with which the club is involved including research, legislative efforts, teachers/children materials & newsletters, and even international cooperative programs with Central and South America.

Whether you can volunteer or provide donations, you can be assured that your time and funds are going to support an organization that is, and will continue with support, making a lasting positive difference for our and future generations.

About fifteen years ago I received an adoption gift of "Floyd", a manatee at Blue Springs Park.
I have been able to visit the park when Floyd made his annual trip for the winter months.
Since that time, I have renewed my adoption annually and I have given manatee adoption gifts to friends, family, and co-workers. It is a "unique" gift that is well received and provides an opportunity to spread the word about manatee and share the idea of adoption.

I enjoy volunteering on behalf of the manatee. The Club's staff is very dedicated, efficient, knowledgeable, and appreciative of their volunteers.

I believe the commitment to education the Save the Manatee Club provides to the public is vital in creating awareness of the importance of long term protection of the Florida manatee.

While sponsoring an environmental club in the '90's at King High in Tampa, I was awakened to the plight of the manatee. For a Save the Manatee Club contest, my students wrote and performed a skit for fifth graders which dramatized a manatee cow escaping from a speeding boat, organized a manatee drawing contest, displayed them at Earth Day, judged them and awarded prizes. Who could have foreseen that the tiny trophy Green Lions won for this project would ignite in me a passion to educate folks on the importance of preserving the manatee?
For these last 13 years since retirement, I have volunteered with Save the Manatee Club to spread the word about this gentle, defenseless animal. My husband and I have worked education booths at events across west central Florida. I have done presentations at elementary and high schools and summer camps. We have found children and adults alike very receptive to our message and very thankful for the Club materials. In addition, on behalf of the Club I have written, emailed and phoned government officials and the Tampa Tribune to assure protections remained in place for manatee habitat. Working with other volunteers, speaking and writing for this cause has been an enriching experience. So I encourage everyone to join Save the Manatee Club, the most potently active club in Florida. Together each individual volunteer's impact will help insure an increased manatee population. Not the least, you will find Janice Nearing, the Club's Public Relations Director, both exceedingly skilled at organizing and personable. Since the manatees cannot thank you, she will!

I was introduced to the manatee as a child and was immediately smitten with this adorable animal. As a gift in the 80's, I became the adoptive parent of a Blue Spring manatee named Boomer and in 1990 I became a Save The Manatee (SMC) volunteer.

SMC is the primary guardian for manatee protection and their mission is clear and challenging. SMC advocates for manatees by encouraging conservation efforts of the natural waters in which they live sponsoring rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts, conducting research, compiling and maintaining data and statistics on manatee mortality rates, keeping track of federal and state laws related to spring(s) protection, educating the public with an attractive and educational website and by placing dedicated volunteers at a variety of environmental events and festivals in order to spread the word about manatees. SMC is staffed by professionals with a genuine concern for protecting manatees and they are effective at maintaining the momentum of the mission to protect manatees.

As a volunteer, being able to introduce others to the manatee fills me with joy and that is why I am still volunteering for SMC over 20 years later. I have built strong friendships with SMC staff and fellow volunteers and will continue to volunteer my time as long as SMC and the manatee needs my help.

Without a doubt, Save the Manatee Club has some of the most committed staff and the most passionate volunteers of any organization I have volunteered for. Organized, efficient, and always appreciative of everything we do, Janice Nearing is without a doubt the best PR person there is! I have had the privilege of working with them for over five years and I receive so much satisfaction in return. Endearing and endangered, our beloved manatees bind us together and motivate us to continually advocate for them.

My spouse and I have been volunteers with the Save the Manatee Club for over 25 years. If they weren't doing exceptional work on behalf of the manatee we wouldn't believe in them half so much, but they are doing GREAT work and we are very very proud to be associated with them. We love educating people about the manatee and the help and protections it needs to survive. This organization has a very small professional staff who, in conjunction with their volunteers and other partner oganizations, are attempting to save manatee and dugong species worldwide. This has not been, and is not, an easy task. Protections fought long and hard for are under constant attack by commercial interests; and nature itself hasn't made it any easier either, like with cold stress and Red Tide. We can't do anything about natural causes, but we can do something about man-made causes like boating impacts, and habitat loss. The staff and other volunteers really do care about protecting manatees and do a good job of keeping everyone informed about issues they need to take action on. Keep up the good work guys and gals!

For readers learning about this organization here for the first time, please check out http://www.savethemanatee.org and give any major assistance that you can. One of the small ways for the general public to help is by adopting a manatee. There are specific named animals who have personalities and tracking histories back to the 70s and early 80s when the Club was founded. It's a fun gift too that keeps on giving to the recipient and the organization each year! Manatees have life spans of over 60 years in captivity but may only have a life expectancy of around 30 years in the wild.

With the strongest of conviction, I have found the Save the Manatee Club to be a stellar organization second to none. With their steadfast dedication spanning over three decades, the club continues undaunted, to maintain it's efforts to protect the lives and habitat of one of nature's most endangered and iconic species, the Manatee.
Through personal observation, I have seen club's sphere of influence reach far beyond the state of Florida through nationwide awareness campaigns taking form as public service announcements, magazine features and the sponsoring of annual 5k runs in the state of Michigan, just to mention a few. They really know how to get their message out to public with great success.
On many occasions, I have personally met with the club's staff biologists, writers, public relations personnel, technical support team and volunteer members enough to say, with upmost sincerity, they are "all" truly committed to the noble efforts of the organization above and beyond the call. And, simply put, they're unmistakably nice hearted and kind people. For me,being a donor to the SMC for over twenty years is one of the best decisions I've ever made.
With the ever changing challenges within the environmental and political arena, I have witnessed, first hand, where the Save the Manatee Club has taken the leadership position in tackling some of the toughest community issues in order not only to maintain, but even more importantly to improve upon, the natural environment necessary for the propagation of the endangered Manatee. Suffice it to say, the Save the Manatee Club will not go down without fight as the strongest ally towards the steps essential to protect and save one of Mother Nature's most beloved creations, the Manatee. Way to go SMC!!!

I moved to Florida from California 10 years ago. Even in California, manatees were my favorite. Once I moved, I was thrilled to be able to find an organization, practically in my back yard, that worked with manatees. Save the Manatee Club is an organization that puts about 80% of its earnings directly back to helping manatees. Believe me, if you saw their office space in Maitland, you would see that they don't keep much back for administrative costs or rent. They are a big presence in Central Florida. Volunteer coordinator, Janice Nearing, is a joy to work with and she works tirelessly getting a Save the Manatee table at as many events as possible. What Jimmy Buffet and Senator Bob Graham started years ago is thriving now and manatees are benefiting. I love that I was immediately put to work. There are many opportunities for volunteers- from the basic envelope stuffing, to manning tables at events to public speaking opportunities to raise awareness. Save the Manatee Club is a small organization with a wide reach and a big heart.

Created almost forty years ago by women of South Florida who understood the necessity of changing the prevailing attitude of many Floridians and Americans generally about sea cows, he Club is an example of grass-roots organizing and fundraising to keep the science of manatees focused on protecting the animal and its surroundings. The Club sustains international research and recovery efforts to enable the shrinking populations of Trichechus manatees, or West Indian manatees from harm, further loss, or habitat destruction. As symbols of the wild shores both fresh and saltwater these manatee families are indicators of the water quality, seagrass health, and viability of our watersheds for innumerable other species.