O'Neill Sea Odyssey
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| Founded | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jack O'Neill |
| Type | California Non-Profit Corporation ID#77-0464784 |
| Focus | Education, Science, Ecology, Community service |
| Location | |
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Area served
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Santa Cruz County |
| Method | Donations and Grants |
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Key people
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Jack O'Neill, founder and co-chair Bridget O'Neill, Board Chair Dan Haifley, Executive Director Tim O'Neill, President and Skipper |
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Employees
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11 |
| Website | www.oneillseaodyssey.org |
O'Neill Sea Odyssey is a non-profit organization located in Santa Cruz, California (California Non-Profit Corporation ID#77-0464784). It was founded in 1996 by wet suit innovator Jack O'Neill and provides students with hands-on lessons on marine habitat and the relationship between the oceans and the environment.
The program provides a free education course at the Santa Cruz Harbor to fourth to sixth-grade students, who typically come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The program's Executive Director Dan Haifley has argued O'Neill Sea Odyssey's position that ocean concepts should be adopted in formal education standards and made more widely available to youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The core program takes place over a three-hour period on board a 65-foot (20 m) catamaran owned by Team O'Neill, and covers three areas; marine biology, ecology and navigation. Three quarters of teachers who enroll their classes in the program utilize the program's web-based classroom curriculum and educational materials both before and after the course. As of December 3, 2013, 75,000 students have passed through the program.
In December 2004, the program received the California Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award in Children’s Environmental Education and in May 2005, US Senator Barbara Boxer presented the organization with her statewide Environmental Champion award http://www.webcitation.org/5McGWJ3FH. On August 22, 2009, the program's Adam Webster Memorial Fund received the Special Parents Information Network's Community Spinner Award for its work with special needs youth (www.spinsc.org). November 5, 2013, O'Neill Sea Odyssey was awarded the Impact Award from the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Executive Director Dan Haifley, along with University of California - Santa Cruz Institute of Marine Sciences Director Gary Griggs, writes a Saturday educational column for the Santa Cruz Sentinel entitled "Our Ocean Backyard".
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