Capital Region Cares Capital Region Cares 2018-2019 | Page 41

ing time and effort to the association.
Despite a full-time job, she began vol-
unteering during the 2017 busy season
in the nursery. She now works the hot-
line for six hours on Tuesdays and in
triage every other Saturday. She’s on
call on weekends, too. “This is a perfect
fit for me because I wanted to help ani-
mals, and it’s so rewarding to see them
return to the wild,” she says. “Also, be-
cause they need help around the clock,
I’m able to blend volunteering with my
job schedule.”
Educating the community is also
part of the mission, with volunteers
accompanied by various ambassador
animals presenting lessons at schools
“We have about 150
volunteers at peak times
and always need more.”
— Theresa Bielawski, president,
Wildlife Care Association and
Education Center of Sacramento
and community events. “We teach
about wildlife, encouraging kids and
adults to appreciate all animals, and
showing them how species interact
for the good of everyone,” explains
Bielawski. “Every animal has a pur-
pose, and their purposes all contribute
to our quality of life.”
The association operates with an
annual budget of $170,000, and the only
government funding they receive is
$10,000 from Sacramento County. The
balance comes from community dona-

T
he Wildlife Care Association and
Education Center of Sacramen-
to is the second largest wildlife
rehab group in California. Dedi-
cated to the rescue, rehabilitation and
release of local wildlife, this nonprofit
organization helps an average of 6,000
animals per year. Founded in 1975,
the association has a 42-year history,
which translates to aid for more than
250,000 animals.
“We care for about 1,500 animals
at any time from late spring through
summer, primarily because that’s
when wildlife babies are born,” says
Theresa Bielawski, the organization’s
president. “Animals are brought in for
many reasons, including inju-
ries, and natural and manmade
habitat disruptions. Our goal is
to get them healthy and stabi-
lized and back into the wild as
fast as possible.”
Located in the old radar
dome building at McClellan
Park, the association takes in
everything from humming-
birds to coyotes. Most animals
at its facility are birds, includ-
ing swans, egrets and owls,
and though mammals, such as
rabbits, skunks, squirrels and
raccoons, are taken in, most are re-
habbed in volunteers’ homes.
Volunteers are the key to success.
“We have about 150 volunteers at
peak times and always need more,”
Bielawski says. Volunteers are needed
to cover shifts around the clock, and
abundant work offers something for
nearly anyone, from paperwork, to
landscaping and facility maintenance,
to direct animal care.
Pam Silagi of Orangevale is a prime
example of the kind of people devot-
tions and small grants. “We struggled
during the tough economy in 2009,
having lost many donors and volun-
teers,” Bielawski says. “We were down
to $28,000 in the bank and weren’t sure
we’d survive.”
In a massive media campaign, the
association was able to put the word
out about their dire straits, and do-
nors stepped up. “They saw our need
and the importance of our work and
came through when we needed them,”
Bielawski says. The group’s primary
fundraiser, Nuts & Berries, has been
generating donations for 15 years now,
but has evolved from a silent auction to
a raff le format, which has been easier
to host and has brought better
returns. The association’s oth-
er annual fundraiser, Wings &
Wine, has been increasing vis-
ibility and donations for about
five years, and Sacramento’s Big
Day of Giving in May has also
provided a significant boost in
recent years.
The association’s latest Nuts
& Berries fundraiser was held
Feb. 17, and Bielawski says they
always invite the public to at-
tend, “as we’re able to operate
only thanks to the goodness
of the community. Our success is the
animals we save — animals that play
critical roles in the balance of nature
and that wouldn’t have made it with-
out us.” n
Jennifer von Geldern is a freelance writer
who covers regional businesses, chari-
ties, events and the people who enrich our
communities.
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