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| First State Bank was a major sponsor this year and even provided their famous `sea-cow' for the Kids Korner. |
Planet Hollywood in Key West hosted a reception for Reef Relief's Cayo Carnival sponsors and volunteers in December at which time Cayo Coordinator George Murphy announced that the annual Reef Relief fundraising event held November 21, 1998, netted over $30,000, including a $2000 donation from Planet Hollywood. The funds will be dedicated to continuing efforts to protect the coral reefs of the Florida Keys.
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| Above: JD Mettler and Amy Horst, sporting the commemorative Cayo volunteer tee celebrating the International Year of the Ocean, have worked the front gate at Cayo for the past several years. Band: The Fins were the headline entertainment at this year's event, which also featured Bill Wharton, The Sauce Boss &The Ingredients, Hugo, Duarte & The Full Sail Band, And One World. |
Murphy noted, "We are very grateful to all our sponsors, especially First State Bank, Kelly's, American Eagle, Hogsbreath Saloon, the Bottlecap, Bacardi, Hooters, BFI, Rio Crystal, Premier Beverages, Buquebus, and Bell South Mobility. I want to thank all of the restaurants, suppliers and volunteers who stepped forward this year to become a part of our annual party, which was dedicated to celebrating the International Year of the Ocean. It takes a whole island to throw a really great party and Key West has lived up to its reputation for doing just that. Thank you all!"
The funds will support the local work of Reef Relief, including the Coral Reef Conservation Program_a multi-media awareness and educational effort throughout the Florida Keys that includes the "Discover Coral Reefs" School Outreach Program for local school students, the Reef Relief Teacher Guide, advocacy for improved water quality, the educational website at www.reefrelief.org, newsletters, brochures and educational programs for residents and visitors, and operation of the Reef Relief Environmental Center & Store in Key West, one of the only public facilities in the world dedicated to learning about the coral reef ecosystem, Coral Nursery Project, the Coral Photo Monitoring Survey, and International Projects.
Related Content:
Jimmy Buffett and his fans and friends continue to support Reef Relief's efforts. Recently, Parrot Heads in Paradise, the national parrot head club held their annual "Meeting of the Minds" convention in Key West. They were kind enough to donate a portion of proceeds raised during the event to Reef Relief. Other regional Parrot Head Clubs have also made donations. In fact, a local Key West Parrot Head Club has recently formed and already they have offered to volunteer with us. Jimmy's Margaritaville stores have continued their long-time support, here Reef Relief Project Coordinator Michael Blades accepts a contribution from Margaritaville's Gaye Whalton.
In March, 1999, many Florida Keys residents and family members mourned the loss of Larry Lipsky, an underwater photographer who resided in the Islamorada area and gave generously of his images of coral reef creatures to Reef Relief. To create a legacy to Larry's love for the ocean and all its creatures, the Larry Lipsky Memorial Fund has been established at Reef Relief by family members. Contributions to the memory of Larry's indomitable spirit will be dedicated to ongoing Reef Relief programs to protect the coral reefs of the Florida Keys. For more information, contact Reef Relief.
The true strength of any non-profit organization—the one factor that determines its ability to make significant achievements—is its membership…and nowhere is this more true than at Reef Relief. Year after year, ranging from major events such as Reef Awareness Week and Cayo Carnival to seemingly small things such as stuffing envelopes and answering the phone, our members and volunteers give generously of their time and resources.
However, despite the countless hours donated by our dedicated corps, there are certain things that require financial resources. Fortuneately, Reef Relief has enjoyed great support from a loyal, mostly local membership who see our work each and every day. Especially exciting is the growth of our membership—both locally and nationwide—through word of mouth. This important increase in membership has allowed us to accelerate our education, scientific and advocacy work to new levels. This needs to continue.
We're asking each and every Reef Relief member to reach out and recruit one new Reef Relief member this month so that next month we can double our accomplishments. So please, take a moment right now while this issue of Reef Line is in your hands, and write the name of a prospective new member across the top of the page. Then when you are finished reading this issue, get it into that person's hands (maybe with a note from you encouraging them to join). Or, you could fill out the membership form that is part of this newsletter and send it into us with that person's dues for the next year.
Our Education Program Needs Your Help
As you probably know, Reef Relief has for many years been a leader in coral reef conservation education. Our projects and programs range from educating children in our Discover Coral Reefs program to informing policy makers in our Action Alerts to interacting with visitors to Key West in our Environmental Center. However, as the additional need for this type of work grows, so does its costs.
We're asking all Reef Relief members to consider making a special gift this year for our Education Program (or, if you've decided to give a gift membership, memorial donation or other special donation, to earmark it for our educational efforts).
Recent Gifts and Grants
In the 4th Quarter of 1998 and the beginning of the 1st Quarter of 1999, numerous grants were received to further support our conservation, education and advocacy work.
Several longtime friends of Reef Relief again stepped forward with critical funding to continue or expand core programs. The George B. Storer Foundation, one of the strongest supporters of conservation efforts in the Florida Keys, awarded us a grant for our Strategic Fund to be applied to the projects and programs "of highest importance and urgency." The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation also continued their support for 1999 with a grant for Marine Projects. The Munson Foundation has been a principal sponsor of Craig Quirolo's photomonitoring Survey and much of his breakthrough research is due to this support. The Richard Lounsbery Foundation, another great friend of Reef Relief, again provided important funds for our conservation, education and scientific work.
These repeat grants, in addition to providing critically-important funds, also were further illustrations of the validity of our work. These foundations receive far more requests for their funds than they can ever fulfill and we are proud that they found our work worthy of continued support.
Late 1998 and early 1999 also saw new foundations and corporations making first time grants to Reef Relief, with many being in response to either word of mouth from our longtime friends and supporters or through what they saw on our website (www.reefrelief.org). The Ernest Stempel Foundation was one such donor who was so impressed by what they gleaned from our website, that they initiated an unsolicited grant of stock which they matched with an additional grant of stock at years end.
Grants were also received from the Mostyn Foundation, longtime supporters of marine conservation and from The Foster Family Foundation, who made a generous gift for our Key West Environmental Center (Editor's Note: The Environmental Center suffered considerable damage due to last fall's hurricanes and tropical storms and a "repairs account" has been established for those who wish to help us fix up this very important educational facility.) As this issue went to press we received word from the Hoover Foundation, a prestigious supporter of conservation, that they would provide capstone funding for the Upper Keys edition of our marine sanctuary educational brochure.
One of South Florida's premier governmental conservation partners, the South Florida Water Management District, recently announced that they were issuing a grant to Reef Relief through their Water Resources Educational Partners Project. This important grant will fund a wide array of educational projects, programs and activities including the Discover Coral Reefs School Outreach Program, an Environmental Education Teacher Workshop, our Intern and Mentor Programs, public service announcements, and the expansion of the Reef Relief website.
Not to be overshadowed by these institutional donors are the many individuals who made important contributions to Reef Relief in the past several months. Very generous gifts have been received for nearly every Reef Relief project and program. As is Reef Relief's policy, we do not print the names of these individual donors (unless they give us specific permission to do so) so as to protect their privacy. To all those who gave so generously to us in recent months, thank you.
Sponsor for the Discover Coral Reefs School Program
We have been busy adding a significant content to our website. Visit the "What's New" section for links to all the material recently posted, thanks to the expertise of Patrick Desmond with help from Alison Alpert & Assistech. Notably, two of Marine Projects Director Craig Quirolo's Photo Monitoring reports have been uploaded: the report on the 1998 Expedition to Cuba and the Report on the Coral Nursery Project (see cover story). Each of these reports include 100's of underwater photographs of the changing reef in these two areas, as well as detailed descriptions and mission logs of each of these projects. We have also been working to develop online versions of our various printed educational materials and added text to the endangered species section. The new Lower Florida Keys Sanctuary Site Brochure (see page 10 of this newsletter) is now available online, in both English and Spanish.
While you are surfing, please visit our Online Environmental Store, which features photos of many of the great products available in our terra firma store. The store accepts secure credit card orders for products or to become a Reef Relief member.
