Social media

After reading the pages and some posts on this blog, you will know a few things: One, I am a kid with an obsession for a porpoise that I might never see. Two, the porpoise is extremely endangered due to entanglement in gillnets. Three, it will be gone within a few years without the removal of the nets from the only place they live, the northern Gulf of California. That’s really the most important stuff.

Next, you might be thinking, “Well, I would like to help this thing, but I don’t have much spare money, and I don’t live near where all of the cool events take place to help and learn about it. Anyway, what could I possibly do to help it when there are scientists who are actually trying?” Then you might click out of the page.

I had the exact same thoughts. Living almost as far away from it in this country as possible, I felt like I was missing out on all of the booths and fundraisers and such. I donated a few hundred bucks over the period of a year, but I knew in the back of my mind that such money is dwarfed by the already millions of dollars spent by the Mexican government. Don’t get me wrong, donations to groups like ¡Viva Vaquita! are vital, but it doesn’t always feel that way. You want to know the best way to help the Vaquita from your chair that is nowhere near Mexico, right?

The answer is social media. That’s right, Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, Google Plus+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, MySpace, DeviantArt, Tumblr, WordPress, and many more. Post something about the Vaquita. Tell your friends and have them do the same. What’s better: one person donating $100, or 200 people each donating $15? Not only does the second one equal 30 times more money for the Vaquita, but 200 people, rather than one, learn about it, and it’s likely they will pass it on too.

So the next time you want to post a status update on Facebook, write about the little Mexican porpoise. As a matter of fact, do it right now. Go ahead, Facebook is waiting.

Monterey County Gives! fundraiser

If you’ve been wanting to donate, now’s a great time! As seen on ¡Viva Vaquita!’s Facebook page, Save the Whales is one of the donation options for Monterey County Gives! 2012’s fundraiser. The money donated to STW will go directly to the Vaquita! Please go to: https://www.montereycountygives.com/Donate.aspx, and under Animals please select Save The Whales and donate ($5 minimum) before December 31! Thank You!
Another great way to donate, especially for the holidays, is with the ¡Viva Vaquita! La Tienda. 100% of proceeds from the wonderful Vaquita items you can buy there goes to our favorite porpoise!

Bears, fish, and a porpoise

In bamboo forests Pandas dwell.

They’re shy and hidden, but we know them well.

Anglerfish live undersea in glory.

They’re rarely seen, but strangely, same story.

Why don’t people know about the Vaquita?

Because few of us have gotten to meet ‘er.

The fact is, though, we’ll never get to see one

Unless we immediately start to save ’em.

Let’s not wait another night:

Click the link to Cetos, on the right.→

TravelSharkPix Winners

TravelSharkPix announced the winners of their charity hunt yesterday, but unfortunately Save the Whales didn’t win. On the bright side, one of the winners was Oceana, a non-profit organization devoted to protecting the oceans and their creatures, including the Vaquita. Hopefully Oceana gets many donations from this event, and the Vaquita gains some more popularity. You can donate by getting a TravelSharkPix account, then uploading your pictures. For the first 100 accepted photos, they will donate 10 cents to either Oceana, The Cheetah Conservation Fund, or People in Crisis United. From the 101st submitter and beyond, they will donate 25 cents! Click here to learn more about TravelSharkPix. You can check out the Oceana site here:

http://oceana.org/en

La Tienda

Check out the ¡Viva Vaquita! La Tienda at http://www.printfection.com/vivavaquita! This great store features a wide range of tops, mugs, mousepads, ornaments, hats, bags, and bottles with various ¡Viva Vaquita! logos and illustrations. Besides the wonderful quality of the products, all of the profits go to the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society, a non-profit organization. This is the best way to donate, and the best way to buy Vaquita items. Happy shopping!