GET INVOLVED
TODAY!
There are many ways to join in our mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and release our native wildlife. Check out some of those ways below:
Ways You Can Get Involved:
The Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida would be difficult to run if we did not have volunteers to help. We are always in need of your help! We can use your help with rescues, transports, fundraising, collecting supplies, feeding animals, etc. Volunteer orientations are conducted by appointment only. Clicking on "Volunteering" above will take you to our volunteer application. Please be as thourough as possible while filling out the application. We want to be sure that we get you matched up with the right spot here at the center. We do ask that volunteers are able to give a minimum of four hours to their time per shift.
Own property? Land lending is an huge way you can help out our mission. Thanks to the generosity of caring individuals in our community, we have access to various release sites. Many of these animals simply need a place to get started before dispersing, which is usually in an area with suitable tree and ground cover and resources where they can readjust to their return to the wild. Others need an area to call home where they establish a territory and become an active and functioning member of the local population. Either way, your property may be very helpful to fulfill this need.
Become a sponsor of one of our new animal enclosures. The new species-specific habitats will allow our patients to recover in an environment that is closer to their natural habitat. As we embark on the expansion of our wildlife center, we have several naming opportunities. Your gift to our center as a sponsor means that your name will become synonymous with the animal of your choice by means of an honoaray plaque with your name on it. All donations of $10,000 will be honored with a spot on our Donor Wall. Be a part of the campaign that will raise the funds necessary to transform the ways in which we are able to care for the thousands of animals that come into our care every year.
We are a registered non-profit with 501(c)(3) status. We do not receive any governmental funding, which means we rely on generous donations from our community members and local businesses alike.
A donation to the Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida goes directly toward our mission. Allowing us to carry out our crucial work to save our native wildlife. Rescuing injured, ill, or orphaned wildlife, rehabilitating them with an end goal of releasing them back into the wild. Thanks to the generosity of people like you who know that your decision to donate makes a tangible impact on the lives of our wild populations and subsequently the balance of our ecosytem.
As many of you know, estate planning takes careful consideration. How do you want your legacy to live on after you have departed?
Whether you want to ensure that certain family members are taken care of or perhaps you are looking for your way to leave an indelable mark on society well after you are gone. Bequests are one very important way you can make sure your desire to support our beautiful native wildlife will come to fruition for years to come via your will.
Have an IRA? Turn your RMD (required minimum distribution) into a QCD (qualified charitable Distribution), ask your tax professional or yoru IRA custodian if this option is for you.
We are first and foremost a wildlife hospital. We are not open to the public, for good reason. The majority of the animals we have here in our care are recouperating from an injury or illness. During their rehabilitation, we want to minimize contact with humans as much as possible. Our honorary adoptions offer an opportunity for our animal loving supporters to give support for the animals they love through a symbolic adoption. Receiving a super soft Wild Republic plush stuffed animal of their choice complete with a personalized adoption certificate. In turn, we recieve a $50 donation that goes directly to animal care and you become an animal hero.
We utilize an Amazon Wishlist to share our daily needs with our community. We update this list on a regular basis with our actual day to day needs here at the center. While there are things we use constantly, depending on the species of patients we have in our care, those needs do change. Consider, clicking on "Amazon Wishlist" above to be taken to our list to see what our center needs. This is one of the easiest ways to help out. Making a wishlist purchase helps us tremendously by lowering our daily operation costs.
Meaning; a donation of goods instead of money. For example, donating new or gently-used items such as towels, blankets, medical equipment, services, and human and pet foods directly impacts our non-profit's bottom line. Lowering our bottom line is a big deal and goes a long way to help our animal patients here at the center. These acts of kindness help more than you know.
Perhaps you would like to help but do not have the funds to donate. There is another way you can help us, by donating your time and energy foraging on behalf of our animal patients. Click on the link "Foraging Foods" link above for a list of things you can collect from nature. For example, collecting acorns when they are in season is a great way to help our squirrel patients. It is a food they would be eating in the wild and therefore is always a better option to give them.