Deena Hoagland of Island Dolphin Care |
What is the Aquapac Outdoor Champions programme?
We'd all like to do something, however small, to make the world a better place. To that end we at Aquapac try our best to support people who devote their whole lives to doing just that.
Each year we pick an individual who we think deserves a lot more public recognition. Somebody - anywhere in the world - who has devoted their life to making the world a better place for others.
Previous champions:
2009 - Daniel Fox
2010 - Roz Savage
2011 - Sarah Outen
2012 - Dave Cornthwaite
2013 - Emily Penn
2014 - Dr Jessie Stone
So who is Deena Hoagland?
Deena founded Island Dolphin Care 17 years ago. It's a non-profit/charity that aims to help children with special needs, children at risk, and also wounded veterans. Through activities centered around dolphin-human therapy, those in need reclaim hope, shed stress, and find inspiration.
The dolphins themselves live in ocean water in a basin in the Key Largo canals.
Deena with her son Joe |
Deena came across dolphin therapy in the treatment of her own critically ill child. She found the friendship of dolphins provided her with the answers to help her son Joe, which led her to create the Island Dolphin Care facility.
This spacious, multifunction centre provides full accessibility to unique activity spaces, a dolphin human therapy area, sensory garden and touch tank.
Deena gets a USD1500 cash award, plus at least USD1000-worth of Aquapac products which will be used to aid treatments in and around the pools.
Both therapists and dolphin trainers want Aquapac's waterproof cases so as to track and record information on iPads while in the water. And they are implementing a number of new test therapies which involve adding sound elements to the water experience which means the iPod/iPhone cases, together with Aquapac's 100%-waterproof earphones, will be really useful. They also want to be able to shoot video in the pool, and again Aquapac can offer all sorts of cases to help here.
Deena with her husband Pete |
For more about Deena and Island Dolphin Care click here.