The Schmidt Family officially has a pet manatee!
Well, sort of. We adopted Moo Shoo
as a gift for our 5 year wedding anniversary, to add more positive in the world beyond the celebration between ourselves.
I started following Save the Manatees pretty soon after we were married, ironically. My husband and I love road trips and the beach, so traveling to Florida is a pretty obvious for us. In fact, we lived in Indialantic (on the barrier island just outside Melbourne, FL) for half a year in between college and “getting a real job.”
We often travel back to the Indialantic area, and in fact spent our honeymoon just south on Melbourne Beach. I’ve seen manatees up close and personal while spending time in Sebastian Inlet, about a 40 minute drive south of the area.
Manatees are slow moving, it’s fun to watch their giant grey bodies bobble and glide at the same time around the shallow waters they enjoy: mostly slow-moving rivers, saltwater bays, canals and so forth.
It is believed that manatees can live up to 60 years! However, human-related fetalities mostly caused by collisions with watercraft are unfortunately common.
Which is one reason to support Save the Manatee Club. The nonprofit’s mission is: “to protect manatees and their aquatic habitat for future generations. To achieve this mission, we work to: increase public awareness and education; sponsor manatee research, rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts; and advocate for strong protection measures, such as boat speed zones and sanctuaries. SMC also supports research and conservation efforts for other sirenian species around the world.”
Would you consider adopting a manatee of your own?
About Nonprofits I Love
It’s a top priority for me in business and life to leave a friendly footprint: positively impact the people I touch to enact positive change on the world, creating a shared sense of responsibility and enhancing our collective experiences and connections.
This is important to me through my brand, Presence&Company Creative Agency, and it’s why I support nonprofits aligned with my personal vision and life experience. The Nonprofits I Love series shines light on charities doing good work in hopes of spreading the word and enhancing its impact.
