Shining World Compassion Award Recipient: Sea Turtle Inc. for Sea Turtle-People Rescue

Today, we will travel to South Padre Island, Texas, USA, home of Sea Turtle Inc. The organization was founded by IIa Fox Loetscher, affectionately known as “Turtle Lady,” who rescued and rehabilitated sea turtle-people, conserved their continuing population, and educated the public about their endangerment. Continuing Ila’s legacy and leading this non-profit organization today, is CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Wendy Knight.

“We rehabilitate injured and sick sea turtles. For our residents, we have 350,000 gallons of water to mimic ocean life. All of our residents are here because they're disabled in some way. Or they have missing limbs or damaged limbs, we have one turtle that only has one fin. They're in there with crabs and fish, and seagrass and all of the things that they would normally have in the ocean.”

Sea Turtle Inc. prepares for the occurrence of cold-stun every year. It can be overwhelming, because many sea turtle-people need attention simultaneously. This happened during the winter season of 2021, when the chilling seawater temperature put them into a state of hypothermia. The staff and volunteers of Sea Turtle Inc. sprang into action to rescue a record number of 5,300 sea turtle-persons.

“We teach classrooms and children worldwide about the importance of conservationism. We have a large virtual and online gamut of programs where teachers and students and adults can take classes to really help understand how they can impact the natural world. We're trying to teach them about conservation, about litter, about recycling, and all of the things that they can do to help us advance the sea turtle population.”

Our Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai: “Tearfully present the Shining World Compassion Award to Sea Turtle Inc., plus a US$10,000 humble contribution to your benevolent efforts, with all love and gratitude. May Heaven bless you and the precious sea turtle- people forevermore.”