Smile Sparking Seals Bring Joy To Orange County Families In Need

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — There hasn't been a great deal to smile about in 2020, but one thing is certain. Seals Sparking Smiles has been a hit. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) launched the new program as part of its free community “give back” programs.

“Our marine mammals can have such an inspirational and joyful impact. We hope that these intimate experiences can offer much-needed smiles to children going through so much," says PMMC CEO Peter Chang. “In addition, this program absolutely impacts everyone involved, including our team of staff and volunteers that get to meet these wonderful children and their families.”

Over the weekend, the Deek family came to the center, arranged through a collaboration with Irvine-based Miracles for Kids. Zain Deek, a 7-year-old girl, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in June 2020. For a day, Zain and her family enjoyed looking into another world, meeting the patients in the center, and learning about their path to recovery.

Sapphira Roberson, Community Programs Manager at Miracles for Kids, discussed the Smile Sparking Seals program and what it meant for the Deek family.

While 2020 has been a struggle for many, for the Deek's, it has been almost insurmountable. Zain went through a year of tests, biopsies, and procedures before they identified her illness.

"On top of this, dad lost his job due to COVID-19," Roberson said. "With the struggle of trying to make ends meet while going to chemotherapy treatments and labs for Zain, it was almost impossible to find time to be together as a family."

"When she had to shave her hair off, it was a very emotional event for Zain and her siblings. They cried seeing their sister in pain and the changes her body had undergone. Mom and Dad do their best to keep their children’s spirits up, and Zain tries to smile and stay positive. With the help of Miracles for Kids, they get financial relief so they can focus on Zain’s treatment, and they are so grateful to be able to visit places like Pacific Marine Mammal Center."

While visiting the seals and sea lions in rehab, they also reconnected as a family. The parents and kids, all together, outside of their home and making meaningful memories somewhere they otherwise wouldn’t be able to go.

It was just more proof positive that the Smile Sparking Seals program is working. The programs are geared to provide a memorable and joyful experience for children (up to age 21) who are going through severe personal challenges in their own lives, a spokesperson for the mammal center says. This includes children like Zain, diagnosed with critical illnesses, a spokesperson said. Two other families have visited the center, families going through other kinds of debilitating financial or personal hardship.

Children are given a personalized behind-the-scenes visit to hear the stories of individual patients rescued because of injuries or health issues and observe them as they recover. They are invited to witness a sea lion release on a future date to witness a recovery come full circle.

Once you've gone through the program, you are considered an animal ambassador and invited to an annual luncheon with other participants from that year. Finally, the children take home a PMMC ‘bundle’ as a remembrance of their experience.

"We had such a great visit with the Deek family this past Saturday," says PMMC Director of Education Kirsten Donald. "The kids were all so engaged, which made it very fun. They were also thrilled when we mentioned that we would be inviting them to a special sea lion release in the late Spring."

Pacific Marine Mammal Center also worked with Miracles for Kids earlier this year with their Buy 1 Give 1 Program. For every order placed with PMMC, a Sea Life Bundle Packs was donated to the Miracles for Kids bundle program to critically ill children.

For more information on PMMC Community Programs, you can check out PMMC's website.