BECOME A PARTNER!
We invite you to partner with us to help save the lives of native wildlife along our Forgotten Coast. There are many ways you can help, by offering your time, donating goods, materials, or services, or making a financial contribution. You can make a difference!
YOU CAN HELP.
FWMA
Wish List
“We go through lots of supplies taking care of our critters. View our wish list for items you can donate.”
Mail Your Donation
Would you prefer to send us a check or money order? Print the donation form and drop your contribution in the mail.
Make an online financial donation by clicking “Donate Now” or read on to consider other ways to contribute.
VOLUNTEER AT THE CENTER.
VOLUNTEER AT THE CENTER.
Here are some things you should consider if you would like to volunteer at the wildlife rehabilitation center in Crawfordville.
Age requirements: All volunteers working at the center must be at least 16 years old. Younger volunteers are accepted if they are accompanied and strictly supervised by a responsible adult. However, parents and guardians should keep in mind that this is a wildlife rehabilitation center where the animals need to be kept in a stress-free environment with limited noise and interaction with humans. As cute as they look in their cages, some can be quite dangerous.
Duties: Volunteers at the center do an abundance of household type chores and outdoor activities including raking, taking out the garbage, washing dishes, sweeping, mopping, and laundry. In addition to daily chores, volunteers may be given the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to enable them to feed baby birds and mammals, foster animals in need, and participate in fundraising events and releases.
Environment: Working at the Center can be a dirty job so please make sure you are dressed appropriately. Wear clothing that is comfortable, and that you don’t mind if it gets stained or bleached. Most of our jobs revolve around cleaning, and you would be amazed at how dirty you can get while cleaning other things! This can be quite a smelly job; we are taking care of a large number of different animals, and we are cleaning their dirty pens. Please keep in mind that you are going to encounter some pretty unique smells!
Animal contact: Volunteers should keep in mind that our goal is always to rehabilitate and release our animals whenever possible. These are wildlife, not pets, and must be cared for accordingly. Minimal contact is essential to help ensure they remain wild.
Schedule: Volunteers can help out at the center 7 days a week from 8:00AM – 12PM. If you would like to volunteer, come to our center at 198 Edgar Poole Road in Crawfordville at 8 AM to work your first shift; no advanced contact is required. Ask for our Executive Director, Jessica Beatty. She will direct you to your day’s tasks and will have you complete the applicable volunteer paperwork. You will be asked to log your hours for each shift you work.
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PLAN A GROUP PROJECT.
PLAN A GROUP PROJECT.
There are always cages that need to be redone, repaired or refurbished, which would make a good group project or Eagle Scout project. There are a number of large projects or general cleanup days that require a larger group (10-20 people). These might include sanding or graveling cages, minor repairs, putting up shade cloth, raking, and picking up tree limbs/sticks, etc. If you have a group that would like to assist in projects such as these, or would like to plan or participate in a group workday, please contact us to so we can discuss the details and get it scheduled.
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OTHER OPPORTUNITIES.
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES.
There are a number of different volunteer opportunities that can be performed by all ages, which don’t involve being at the center, but give us the support we need in other ways. These also can make for really fun and rewarding activities for individuals or small groups.
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Involve the kids:
Many of the animals eat things you can find outside, such as acorns, pecans, peanuts, sand pears, blueberries, and blackberries. This can make a really fun project for the kids and is incredibly helpful for our weekly food bill as well as keeping the animal’s diets similar to the ones they would have in the wild.
Wish List Rally:
FWMA uses a ton of supplies, both for cleaning and for feeding so many wildlife patients. So why not put together a fundraiser, food drive, or a penny drive to benefit the critters? Cleaning supplies (bleach, paper towels, Dawn dish liquid, Tide laundry detergent), animal feed, (fruit cocktail, fresh fruit and vegetables, birdseed and nuts, Pedigree wet and dry dog food, Friskies wet and dry dog food), outdoor maintenance supplies (rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows, hoses, and nozzles), and gift cards for local grocers are always needed. For additional ideas, please check out our full FWMA Wish List.
Work at home:
There are also some jobs that require a little patience, such as folding out newspapers. Each cage is lined with fresh newspapers daily so we go through a lot of them. Folding out newspapers can be a huge help to our staff members and can be done at your convenience at home, even in front of the TV!
Fundraising:
It is a tremendous challenge to raise the funds needed to operate a 24/7 wildlife center in a rural area with no state/county/federal funding. Each year we plan multiple fundraising events, which depend on volunteer assistance for their success. These include the Feather and Fur Masquerade Gala, Christmas for the Critters, Meet & Greet the Critters, periodic yard sales and silent auctions, community bingo, distribution of membership mailings, and many others. These can be a lot of work, but they are a lot of fun! If you would like to assist us with fundraising, please complete and submit the "Contact Us" Form and we will be in touch.
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MAKE A DONATION.
As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we rely entirely on financial donations, donations of materials and services, and grants to operate our facility. FWMA does not receive funding from county, state, or federal government agencies. Your contribution goes directly towards the support and care of wildlife and is tax-deductible. Thanks for your support!
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Wildlife Wishlist Items
See our Wishlist
You never know what you have lying around that we may be able to use! View our Wildlife Wishlist to see what you can pitch in! Or you can even subscribe through companies like Chewy or Amazon to purchase and have high-demand items delivered on a regular basis directly to us. Items can be delivered or shipped to:
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FWMA
Edgar Poole Road
Crawfordville, FL 32327-4264
Ph: 850-363-2351
Monetary Donations
Monetary donations are always needed, and allow us to buy animal feed, specialized wildlife formulas, medical supplies, and to provide rehabilitative and veterinarian care for the animals. We are highly rated by independent non-profit rating organizations like GuideStar.org (Silver Participant) and Charity Navigator (4-Star Rating), so you can give with confidence.
Online Donations:
Click Donate Now to pay via credit card or PayPal.
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Donate by Mail: Would you prefer to send us a check or money order? Print the donation form and drop your contribution in the mail.