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Sick children based at a Kettering hospital now have their very own, real life dolphin to care for! And it's all thanks to the generosity of a BNI member!
'Whisky' the dolphin lives at the Moray Firth in the far North East of Scotland, and has been adopted for children at Kettering General by STANAIR INDUSTRIAL DOOR SERVICES Ltd.
Now, long stay children who do their studying at the hospital while they recover from illness, can follow the day to day life of 'Whisky' through the website and regular newsletters.
It's proved a real winner with the children - and the hospital want more local businesses to follow STANAIR'S example.
"It was a fantastic gesture by STANAIR, and we really appreciate it," said Eileen Clark, a learning mentor at the Dolphin Schoolroom at Kettering General - where they oversee the education of children from three to 16 years who are in hospital for a period of time.
"The idea materialised after I entered a magazine competition to win my own dolphin," she said. "I didn't win but I became really interested in the idea because of the Dolphin association with the schoolroom.
"I investigated further and thought it would be nice idea for local firm to be involved, and I know someone at Stanair and they very kindly agreed to donate the money.
"It's really exciting for the children who study regularly with us, they've really taken to following 'Whisky's' progress, and from an educational point of view we're helping their IT skills because obviously we're monitoring him via the website every day."
Melanie Burn, 16, who suffers with Pulmonary Hypertension and visits the hospital regularly, chose 'Whisky'. She explained: "I thought Whisky was the right choice because he's only a baby and I thought he might need a bit of extra tender loving care."
Demelza Worley, Stanair marketing executive, said the company was delighted to have made such a popular contribution to the local hospital.
"We're always very keen to sponsor good local causes, and this certainly fits the bill," she said. "It makes us all feel really good that children are having so much fun thanks to 'Whisky's' adoption."
Such has been the success of the project, the hospital are now appealing to more local businesses to come forward and sponsor other dolphins.
"We would like funding or support from any local business or individuals to enable us to provide materials to enrich the basic curriculum of the hospital school," said Brenda Hunt, another learning mentor at the hospital.
If anyone would like any further information about adopting a dolphin or providing any sponsorship to the Dolphin Schoolroom, please contact Eileen Clark or Brenda Hunt on 01536 492294.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Whisky is a young dolphin and the calf of Happy Dragon. Whisky is PROBABLY a male, but it is very difficult to tell with young wild dolphins as they look similar and behave in much the same way.
Happy Dragon and Whisky spend a lot of time together and are often seen with other dolphins swimming, tailslapping, leaping and playing. Happy Dragon has at least one older calf, Penny, who was born in the 1980s.
The weather can change rapidly in the Firth but the dolphins are used to this and Whisky is often spotted enjoying surfing through the large waves of autumn and winter storms.
Whisky's markings are less obvious than some dolphins but Happy Dragon's are very distinctive and because the two spend so much time together we can still be pretty sure that if we see her then Whisky is likely to be close by.
To find out more about adopting a dolphin, and about Whisky, the website address is www.wdcs.org or www.adoptadolphin.com |
