BRODY

“Hi! My name is Brody. I just turned 11 years old. Sharks have been my favorite creature for the longest time. I was writing an article at school about sharks and my research taught me more about sharks and how close they are to extinction because of shark finning, which made me want to do something about it. I showed my mom a website called Sharks.org for Shark Research Institute and asked her if I could donate or adopt a shark. She offered to raise money on her Facebook page for my 11th birthday to help and I raised $250, including $40 of my own birthday money.

I hope my donation will help SRI protect sharks and raise awareness to stop shark finning.”

SAMAIRA

Seven-year-old Samaira lives in Gurugram, India. She is a “mini-encyclopedia” about sharks, says her mother. She is passionate about sharks and has created a diorama of a coral reef, the deep sea, a pretend aquarium, shark and megalodon puppets, and written a book on sharks. As you may see in the photos, she loves sharks. Samaira and her mother have been giving out Let Sharks Live and Year of the Shark flyers at their local mall to educate people about the necessity of protecting sharks.

“When sharks are finned I feel very bad. It’s a bad a very bad thing,” she says. Samaira says that when she grows up she will form a team to protect sharks.

CALEB & MATTHEW

One afternoon fifth grader Caleb was reading a book about sharks with Ms. Sarah, a site coordinator with Communities In Schools of North West North Carolina. The book talked about endangered sharks and the ways you could help them.

“Next day I brought a box to collect money to help the sharks. Next, my friend Matthew came on board and he brought a box. With permission, we went on our school’s morning news and visited classrooms talking about Shark Conservation, and hung posters. Every student who brought one dollar would be entered to win a National Geographic 3 D-Shark puzzle.

We were happy to get participants and we raised almost $80 and want Shark Research Institute to have it.”

NATE

SRI member Nate, a 7th grader, facilitated a fundraiser at his school, raising $431 for SRI. He then asked his school advisor and principal for permission to do the same thing again, and they agreed. The school has a uniform dress code, and each student who donated $1 to the Nate’s Shark Awareness Fundraiser was allowed to have an “out-of-dress-code day.” Nate’s second fundraiser raised more than more than an additional $100 for SRI’s research and conservation programs.

ANDRE

“For my birthday, I decided to ask for donations to adopt a whale shark. After receiving $60 in donations (in lieu of gifts), my parents offered to donate the rest so that I can adopt a whale shark for my lifetime. I know that sharks are really important and I am excited about learning more about them.”

ZACHARY

Zachary just turned eight and decided that he didn’t need any gifts but the sharks of the world (especially great white sharks) need some help. He asked his friends not to give him a gift at his party and instead pool their resources to help the sharks. They did, and Zachary donated $153 to SRI’s conservation program.

WILLIAM

William is 6 years old and won first place, the gold medal at his school’s Science Fair held on February 21. He presented his project in front of 4 judges and each one was very impressed. When asked by one of the judges if the Great White eats humans, he answered: “Scientists think that the Great White Sharks don’t like the taste of humans because they usually take one bite and then swim away”!

His parent added, “He has learned so much about the Great White Shark and I hope his passion of the GWS follows him throughout his life!”

TERRACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Second & Fifth graders held a “Shark Fundraiser,” adopted 9 whale sharks, and collected more than 100 signed Stop Finning cards. Kevin and Dana and their friends, Jake, Tommy and Bobby, worked on the fundraiser.

KELLY

A 17-year-old underwater filmmaker and diver, produced a documentary film highlighting the role of sharks in the marine ecosystem and exposing the cruelty of shark finning.

GRANTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Second-grade students hosted a bake sale, made posters, collected hundreds of Stop Finning cards, adopted two whale sharks and donated the proceeds of their bake sale to SRI’s shark conservation program.

MAKING & SELLING LITTLE THINGS FOR A BIG CAUSE

When kids decide to become involved in creating the world they want to live in, there is no stopping them!

 Arven (9) and Anjali (6), along with their two friends Anaya (8) and Kiyaan (5) spent all summer making crafts to sell at their town’s festival: hats, magnets, keychains, bookmarks, and coasters, and sold their crafts for the charities of their choice: The Shark Research Institute, St. Jude’s, St. Hubert’s Animal Rescue Center, and their local library. They spent many hours talking to the public about the work of the four organizations and raised a significant amount of funds for the charities. Afterwards, the children and their mothers visited SRI Headquarters to present the donations they collected in person and to talk about sharks with Marie Levine and Dean Fessler.