Help Kids who are Blind meet Della the Blind Seal

 The Olmsted Early Education Program is a unique program for children with visual impairments and other disabilities. We offer services in our integrated and center-based classrooms, as well as in the community. Children with visual impairments and other disabilities learn about the world in ways other than watching, and the Olmsted Early Education Program is a special place where they can learn and grow – by listening, touching and trusting.

                                  
Della is a 25 year old blind gray seal that was rescued off the coast of Delaware – which is how she got her name – and she now calls the Aquarium Niagara her home. 
We need your help to allow our students to have a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to meet a wild animal that shares their disability. 

With your help, our students will have a chance to interact with Della, and even pet and feed her! The aquarium’s mission is to promote education and conservation by giving the public the chance to see animals they may not normally encounter. Meeting Della would be an educational and thrilling encounter that our students would never forget! 

Donate now to help pay for the transportation to get our students to the Aquarium of Niagara, and also to pay for the cost of admission for the students and teachers. You can help our kids create a memory that will last a lifetime! 

Because Della is blind, her trainers act as her eyes, and Della has been working with the aquarium’s team of six animal trainers to navigate her new home. Della’s hearing is acute because she can’t rely on her sight, and she responds to tactile or verbal cues instead of hand gestures, and follows verbal prompts without hesitation!