The Gulf Coast Restoration Fund Benefits From $25,000 Donation By Internet Entrepreneur Jesse Willims

Saying that mankind as a whole has an obligation to clean up the Gulf Coast in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Jesse Willms donated $25,000 today to the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund.

He also donated $25,000 each to three other charities today, including:

• The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
• The Nevada YMCA
• Children's Hospital Boston

Willms has had a philanthropic focus since he saw Bill Gates and Warren Buffett challenge successful people like himself to give as much as they can to charities to help make the world a better place. While he normally provides his support to organizations that help women and children, he said the devastation of the Gulf coast is too big an issue for anyone to ignore.

The National Wildlife Federation created the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund after the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The explosion led to millions of gallons of oil being released into the Gulf before it was put under control three months later. The pollution has severely damaged fragile ecosystems and the Gulf coast economy.

Money donated to the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund is dedicated to a variety of problems and concerns, including:

• The creation of Gulf Coast Surveillance Teams. These are volunteer networks organized to look for wildlife that has been endangered by the oil spill. Once they have identified at-risk wildlife, the teams then begin long-term volunteer restoration programs.

• Restoring and rejuvenating at-risk nesting and breeding grounds for endangered wildlife, and renewing the fragile ecosystems the Gulf coast needs to sustain the lives of water birds, sea turtles and other animals.

• Educating the public about the disaster and how it has impacted wildlife. This has included online efforts at www.nwf.org/oilspill and campaigns to inform the media about the impacts the oil spill has had having on coastal communities and wildlife.

• Working at the national and state levels to create policy and legislation that will help restore the habitats in the Gulf coast and protect our waters and coastlines.

The Gulf Coast Restoration Fund is one of many charitable organizations Willms has partnered with. He said he plans to announce new charitable initiatives in the very near future.