The Maddie James Foundation was founded in 2011 by the parents of a five year-old California girl who passed away due to an inoperable brain tumor, but whose love of the ocean and its many creatures will live forever.

The Foundation was created to raise the funds necessary to secure the naming rights to the Maddie James Seaside Learning Center at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, CA, which celebrated its grand opening on May 18, 2013.

With the Center now open, the Foundation supports the Ocean Institute directly to ensure Maddie’s legacy lives on through the more than 115,000 K-12 students and 8,000 teachers that visit annually.   Using the ocean as its classroom, the Institute inspires children to learn by participating in one of 61 award-winning programs in hands-on marine science, environmental and ocean education and maritime history.

OC Family TV shares the story of Maddie James and her gift to the Ocean Institute.		View a slideshow of the grand opening of the Maddie James Seaside Learning Center HERE.