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ChangingThePresent.org is providing an alternate gift idea for this holiday season that adds a little personality to your gift, demonstrates your support for saving the earth and brings a new friend into a loved ones life – adopt a penguin for only $50! Name it after its recipient or allow the recipient to name it themselves. What could be more fun than having your very own penguin?!?
Why Adopt a Penguin?
Ice caps are melting and as a result, the penguins are losing their homes and their food supply is dwindling. In some areas, the penguin population has decreased by as much as 80%. The poor penguins need help…
How it Works
“Your gift to Adopt A Penguin will help Defenders save penguins and other imperiled wildlife.” (Source: ChangingthePresent.org)
To Order Your Penguin Today
Visit Adopt a Penguin and adopt away!
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The idea behind these types of programs is that penguins need some help. The polar ice caps are melting, which means that they are slowly losing their natural habitats. So, a number of different organizations have stepped in to try and improve the situation. These adoption programs are essentially just another way to raise money. In turn, this money is used to help fund their research and conservation programs.
This type of giving is also not limited to penguin adoption. In fact, there are groups listed on the internet whose aim is to help you find the perfect charitable or non profit group. This will allow you to search based on the type of organization, type of gift and a number of other factors.
There are a number of other things that this could lead to, depending upon the level and depth of your commitment. You could build a registry for an upcoming wedding. That would be a very cool thing to do. This would probably make you one of the more unique couples! Start a fund raising drive or even solicit donations for your next charity race, marathon or other event.
You could also send a greeting card out to your friends and colleagues. This is an excellent way to describe your gift and possibly even interest a few others in joining the cause. Remind party guests to make a donation instead of leaving a traditional gift. What could be more festive during the holiday season?
Of course, most donations are tax deductible. Almost all of these organizations will gladly provide receipts and acknowledgments of your gift.
One of the things I really thought was cute about these donations and adoption programs was the forms that these take. With some of these, you will receive a photo, an adoption certificate and gift bag. Actually, this looks like it would a really nice gift for someone who is interested in this sort of thing.
After reading this article I asked myself the question of why would anyone want to adopt a penguin. Do people really care about this type of thing or are they just trying to make themselves feel better about things?
I must start by saying that I do not really believe in much of what hear described as climate change and the planet getting warmer and the polar ice caps melting. However, after thinking about this for a while, I have come to the conclusion that it is a little bit of both caring and trying to assuage some guilt. Additionally, I also think there is a fair amount of good marketing thrown into the mix.
Certainly, many people do care about penguins and other endangered species (but are penguins actually endangered…I do not think they are). Helping them out is not a bad thing. In fact, it can a very altruistic activity and cause to become engaged in. However, I also think many people are sad about the supposed conditions which humanity has imposed upon these funny looking birds. The melting of the ice caps and the penguins losing their homes and natural habitat makes many people sad. It makes these people feel better knowing that they can do something like make a donation or join an adoption program.
On top of all this, I think the media is playing a big part. This is especially true in the more prosperous nations. If the penguins were not cute and easily lovable they certainly would not garner nearly as much attention. No one ever talks about needing to save the poor Abra Malaga Toad, do they? Nope. It is much easier for international media outlets to market and sell the plight of the poor penguins to an unwitting public.
But, since these little guys are cute, I have no doubt a caring public will indeed help to save them.
Penguins are some of the cutest flightless sea birds that you will ever see. They live primarily near the South Pole, on every continent in the southern hemisphere. They have a lifespan of between fifteen and twenty years.
Penguins in the wild are generally considered carnivores. They eat krill, which are small, shrimp like creatures living in the sea, and other types of fish and sea creatures. Their compact and streamlined bodies are able to swim at rates up to 5 miles per hour. If you have ever seen a penguin toboggan, this is quite a sight. They push themselves along the snow and ice, using their flippers and feet. They can actually go along at a pretty good clip when performing these maneuvers.
In the USA, penguins are indeed classified as endangered species. According to most reports, the biggest threat to these animals is global warming and climate change. The idea here is that even the slightest change in the water temperature or composition can effect a number of things. This includes the ice cover and the availability of food sources.
There are also a number of other threats. Even though most penguins are protected from hunting by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, this does not mean that hunting has stopped. Many penguins have become entangled in fishing gear and also some of their food sources are beginning to disappear due to over fishing. Not to mention additional things like oil spills and the introduction of dogs and other natural predators to their environments.
Hopefully, things can change so that these little guys have a fair chance at survival.
I would much rather give a neighbor $50 to help with the maintenance of their animals or even buy food for the animals. I recycle. I help out the elderly and disabled. I will even take someone grocery shopping. I reuse everything I possibly can to help the environment. But no, I have no urge to donate money that goes more toward the benefit of corporations than to any cause they might currently be selling.