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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Seven year old adopts seal from the University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center in lieu of birthday gifts

Risa Sanders' love of seals came to fruition about two years ago when she read Nim's Island and also visited the Boston Aquarium. This past summer, she visited The University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (MARC) with Camp Ketcha and has not stopped talking about her visit. Her goal is to be an "animal doctor."

As Sanders' seventh birthday approached, she asked for something seal-like and mentioned MARC from her visit this past summer. Her parents visited the MARC website and learned of both the wish list and the ability to adopt a seal. Sanders decided that for her big present from her family, she would adopt a seal in lieu of receiving birthday gifts. She also asked her friends to donate to the cause on her behalf. She has not stopped talking about "Garland" since she received her adoption packet in the mail, and she has already planned her in-class presentation.

Julie and Pat Sanders, Sanders' parents, state, "Our goal is to teach our children true generosity and a desire to help others, including animals. With the help of MARC, Risa understands how important it is to help the animals and also how rewarding it can be. She has been very willing and open to the idea of donating versus receiving gifts since her fourth birthday, but MARC has been the first organization to really show her how thankful they are for her kind donation."

Garland was released back to its environment Nov. 19, 2010, and Risa was there to let her adopted seal out of the crate.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.