The Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club was founded in 1963 by twelve members of the island community. Today the club has more than 150 members and organizes the annual juried Sanibel Shell Festival. This is the only shell club to fully fund a student through graduate school into a PhD program at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. The club also give grants to several marine institutions, including the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum where it sponsored the newest exhibit "World Record-Size Shells." We encourage all persons with an interest in mollusks, shells, marine environments and shell arts to join the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club.