• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Ellen DeGeneres Shows Her Animal Instincts and Makes a Difference With a New Environmental Campaign

Posted on: Thursday, 12 October 2006, 06:00 CDT

NEW YORK, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellen DeGeneres is many things -- comedienne, talk show host, producer, humanitarian. Now she'll add seal to her long list of credits as she helps launch the Dawn Saves Wildlife program and its Web site http://www.dawnsaveswildlife.com/ .

This year the Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign has set a goal of educating 1 million people about the importance of saving aquatic wildlife by educating them about simple actions they can take to decrease the amount of oil they put into the environment. Ellen's involvement will include a presence on the Web site where she will encourage people to join her virtual flock, an online community of animals where Ellen will be represented by a seal.

"I love animals. In fact, if I wasn't a talk show host, I have always said that I would be a veterinarian. That's why I am so happy to be a part of the Dawn Saves Wildlife program," said DeGeneres. "The program's main goal is to raise awareness about the devastating effects that our everyday behaviors can have on aquatic wildlife. By going to dawnsaveswildlife.com and joining my flock, you too can make a difference in the lives of thousands of animals each year."

Program Details

Did you know that 29 million gallons of oil make it into North America's ocean waters each year and, of that amount, 24 million are caused by activities that humans do daily; not big oil tanker spills?* For example, disposing of cooking oil down drains, topping off your gas at the pump and not maintaining your car and boat can all lead to excessive oil getting into waterways and harming or killing aquatic wildlife.

This year Dawn(R) dishwashing liquid will build on its more than 25-year heritage of helping wildlife rescuers save aquatic animals affected by oil spills by launching the Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign in October. The campaign's main goal is to educate people about the simple changes they can make in their daily lives to help save wildlife. The program also includes partnerships with the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) and The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC), enabling these rescue facilities to go beyond animal clean-up. IBRRC and TMMC will be able to create better rehabilitation programs, supply vehicles to transport hurt and rehabilitated animals, and provide the resources needed to create a better future for our aquatic wildlife.

"It all started by cleaning ducks and birds," said Anna Burdick, External Relations Manager for Dawn. "Through our experience saving birds' lives, we saw the opportunity to help many more animals and expand our campaign to include prevention efforts. We realized we could achieve this by helping to change people's behaviors, thus making an even greater difference in the environment."

How The Campaign Works

People looking to join Dawn and help aquatic wildlife can go online to http://www.dawnsaveswildlife.com/ and:

-- find helpful tips; or -- build awareness by either -- joining Ellen DeGeneres' flock; -- starting a flock and inviting friends and family to join; -- informing others through educational e-cards about how to make a difference.

Creating an online animal community and inviting friends and family to join not only empowers more people to make a difference, but offers a reward. To participate in the Dawn Top Flock competition, you can either create a flock and invite friends and family to join it, or join an existing flock if you receive an e-mail invitation from friends or family to join a flock. At the conclusion of the program, the flock with the highest number of members will be deemed the "Top Flock." If you are a member of the "Top Flock" and you registered for the random drawing, you will be entered for a chance to win the Grand Prize trip to the IBRRC in San Francisco, California with three friends for the experience of a lifetime.**

How Dawn Has Helped Through History

More than 25 years ago, the IBRRC was seeking a solution to clean the thousands of oil-coated birds that came into California centers each year. The IBRRC found that Dawn dishwashing liquid was powerful enough to effectively remove oil from birds' feathers, while remaining gentle on their feathers, skin and eyes. Since then, rescue groups worldwide have chosen Dawn to clean aquatic animals.

"Dawn has made a difference in helping us save countless birds and animals over the years," said Jay Holcomb, Executive Director of the IBRRC. "But this effort is even bigger. This says we all can make a difference. Every little habit change helps."

"With Dawn's continued support and America's participation, we will be able to continue our mission of rescuing seals, sea lions, dolphins and other marine mammals, some of which may be affected by oil spills and everyday runoff," said B.J. Griffin, Executive Director of TMMC. "We are thankful for this support and look forward to our continued partnership in rescuing wildlife and educating the public about the importance of ocean health.

About Procter & Gamble

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands. For more information on how Dawn is saving wildlife, please visit http://www.dawnsaveswildlife.com/ .

* Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects, report by the National Academies' Ocean Studies Board and Transportation Reseach Board's (TRB) Marine Board and the United States Department of the Interior ** NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

Procter & Gamble/Dawn

CONTACT: Deepa Khetan, dkhetan@mahercomm.com, or Jessica Elker,jelker@mahercomm.com, both of Marina Maher Communications, Inc., for Procter &Gamble/Dawn, +1-212-485-6800

Web site: http://www.dawnsaveswildlife.com/

Source: PRNewswire

More News in this Category