Sea Turtle Adventures - 2020-2021 Mini-Grant Awardee!
Sea Turtle Adventures has received a 2020-2021 Healthier Jupiter Mini-Grant to fund “Just Keep Swimming”.
This project will help individuals become more physically active on a regular basis by….
Based on the popular movie “Finding Nemo”, our proposed project “Just Keep Swimming!” aims to help adults with special needs to become more physically active on a regular basis through actively swimming laps and treading water at various swimming pools located within the Town of Jupiter. For those not familiar with this saying, “Just Keep Swimming!”, the motto is intended to give someone the hope they need to finish a goal and to finish strong. The project would begin December 2020 and end November 2021 and would include one two-hour event each month for twelve months, offered to STA’s existing iCare Program participants. The number of laps completed would be recorded at each event (per person) as well as the total amount of time spent treading water (per person) for those individuals unable to complete laps. Staff and volunteers would encourage repeat participants to improve at each event by reviewing their past results.
How will this project create lasting and transformative change in the health, wellness and success of the greater Jupiter community…
Many adults with special needs lead sedentary lives due to lack of opportunities available to them that are physical in nature (most activities are indoors and involve a lot of sitting). Research has documented that swimming is a very effective exercise for individuals with special needs. It helps build core strength and improve coordination. Just being in the water helps sooth their mind and body. The water’s buoyancy relieves the stress that gravity traditionally places on their muscles and joints. In the water, participants essentially feel a sense of weightlessness, a greater range of motion, and improved flexibility.
Sea Turtle Adventures’ mission is to conserve local populations of sea turtles, educate the public about the marine environment, and provide nature-based programs and life skills training to adults with disabilities. Established in 2016 when biologist Jacquelyn Kingston, after working with several adults with special needs, recognized that increased conservation awareness can enrich the lives of this under-served audience. For 18 years, Kingston has been permitted by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to monitor sea turtle nests along a three-mile stretch of beach in southern Palm Beach County. Creating STA offered a way to provide more environmental education through hands-on activities such as beach cleanups, observation of turtle monitoring, and presentations that effectively engage adults with disabilities in the community. You can learn more about their work by visiting www.seaturtleadventures.com.
Follow Sea Turtle Adventures’ Just Keep Swimming Project progress on social media:
Interested in learning more about this grant, reach out to jkingston@seaturtleadventures.com.
More about Healthier Jupiter’s Mini-Grant Program
For the fifth year in a row, Healthier Jupiter will offer $2,500 Mini-Grants to impact the health of our community. The goal of the Mini-Grant program is to fund projects that address healthy eating, active living and mental health in new, innovative and community-centered ways. These projects will create lasting and transformative change in the health, wellness and success of the greater Jupiter community. Not-for-profits, government agencies, civic organizations, public schools, school-based groups, houses of worship, businesses and individuals are encouraged to submit applications. Funds available will pilot ideas to improve our collective community health in one or more focus areas:
Increase availability and affordability of fresh, healthy foods;
Help individuals become more physically active on a regular basis;
Encourage people to engage mentally to practice healthy behaviors; and/or
Change the built environment and policies that promote equitable health opportunities.
Healthier Jupiter, in partnership with Jupiter Medical Center is dedicated to bringing the greater Jupiter community together to encourage each person to live their healthiest life. Healthier Jupiter is part of the Palm Health Foundation’s Healthier Together Initiative, a long-term, community-driven approach to solving a community’s complex healthcare issues.