naturallivingalliance.myfreeforum.org

Pam · Joined: 08 Apr 2007 Posts: 10

> Dear friends this is an urgent message from Melanie Cain-Stage president of HAWKE wildlife in St Johns County. Please pass it on to all your friends and business that might help. ALL donations are tax deductible. Without YOUR SUPPORT HAWKE will have to cut back and may not be able to help when you need them.
> Most of you are members or maybe friends of members of our organization, please read this, and help us now! If you have not renewed or ever donated to our organization please join today its easy >you can give a monthly donation on line out web site is www.hawkewildlife.org any amount would be welcomed or donations of your time, fish, or business services. Many people who are new to the community, or even those who have lived here for many years take HAWKE, the Humane Association Of Wildlife Care and Education, Inc. for granted. I moved here over thirty years ago when less than 50,000 people lived in the entire county. Now we have developments that will be bringing in that many people and over 75,000 houses already on permitted to be built and more applying day with no regard for our quality of life or the fact that there is no need for more mega developments here.
> What people do not realize is that all this uncontrolled growth and influx and expansion of roads, houses, and strip malls is taking a huge toll on our wildlife. Just this past July 4th I received more than 50 wildlife calls! the phone rang from 7AM to 11PM . This is in my home I do not have or can afford an answering service.
> For earth day many people symbolically plant a tree or clean up trash and feel like they have done their part, but for the rest of the year, many of you pretty much forget about" mother earth" until she lands in your back yard. People call us day and night expecting us immediately to be able to jump in a vehicle and pick up what ever bird or animal that their cat has injured, or has been hit by their car, or they find stranded on the beach. At t $3.00 a gallon for gas, it is very expensive to drive sometimes an hour each way to pick up a bird or turtle. Most wildlife centers big ones with paid staff do not provide pick up for wildlife. Federal and state agencies charge us to provide care for wildlife and paperwork due to keep our permits , but provide no funds or services to operate .
> Many of you might have seen the story TV 4 on 6 o clock News last WEds June 27th ago and on the cover of the Record Thursday 28 ( about the great horned owl we saved and released at Osceola school. That Owl cost us over $300 in food alone! This does not count the two baby river otters pictured above that have cost us over $2,000 each to raise and will be let go at the end of this month. We also have eagles, other otters, turtles baby & adult hawks, owls , ospreys and more . HAWKE has a big hospital facility that has electricity bills. It cost 85.00 just to fill up our van. WE ARE DOWN TO JUST BARELY ENOUGH FUNDS TO LAST 2 MONTHS THEN WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? HOW CAN W FEED THESE GUYS AND ALSO HAVE FUNDS FOR STORMS THIS SUMMER?
> Wildlife is having a horrible time . Without people's help they will just die. Many of these new maga developments use deer and other wildlife in their commercials or ads and slogans . The reality is if you go by where these places are building they are bull dozing thousands of trees and putting them in huge piles to burn. This has been going on for months and will continue to be until late summer the breeding and reproduction time of most birds, mammals and reptiles. They live on top of trees, inside of trees under the trees and the majority of workers do not bother to check or stop and help the orphaned animal or bird they knock over. These creatures, their nests and homes just wind up crushed or dying in the piles of dead trees until they slowly die or are burned alive. NONE of these developments have made any tax deductible donations towards HAWKE wildlife care and yet they are making millions of dollars . Much of our tax payers money goes to more roads needing to be built which again since we have no underground or overpass corridors for wildlife they wind up dead or injured on the side of the road.
> We are not an unknown or fly by night organization , I have been around since 1979 when I helped form and was head curator of St. Augustine Wildlife Center until 1987 when it disbanded. and I formed HAWKE in 1987.) We have been on TV literally hundreds of times, the newspaper radio and more. When people move into these homes, or business, who do they call when they find an animal in distress? HAWKE, day or night about a wildlife problem and expect us to be there immediately to pick up the bird or the animal .Some people are very rude. We are not allowed to charge people for our services. We have to pay huge amounts for our state federal and other permits and licenses to operate plus hundreds of hours in paper work to hand in to these agencies. Our phone is in our home, we do not have funds to pay for an answering service . The Humane Society is not open at 12 midnight or 6:30 AM Sunday on Mothers day, yet they call us and demand action. People expect us to be there 24/7 without their funding to operate and never even offer to help with expenses of caring for the animal.
> We are a not for profit organization that depends on membership donations, fund-raisers and volunteers , to help pay for food and expenses for hundreds of wild birds, mammals, and reptiles each year. Since 1979 I have expanded my wildlife operation from a "small back yard" compound near the Alligator Farm to moving to Elkton in 1991 on 5 acres we purchased and gradually making a first class wildlife facility with inside and outside professional cages, otter complex, flight cages, water and land turtle facilities and a hurricane proof hospital, ICU room, feed room and storage area. My husband and I have worked nonstop along with many volunteers getting this operating.
> HAWKE like many non profits does not have a paid full time staff to pick up wildlife day and night. We depend on volunteers or the person finding the wildlife to take it to St. Johns Vet Clinic who donate their services to help wildlife. or to HAWKE directly. Without the generosity of St. Johns Vet we would not be able to operate our Center .
> HAWKE can not help a rapid animal no provide care for dogs, cats chickens and other domestic pets put people call us for these problems too. We do a remarkable job with our limited budget and are internationally respected among major wildlife centers.
> I am a grand mother now. Our house needs major repairs and I would like to send some quality time with my family . After 30 years of helping wildlife, I am not going to quit but without more support so I can have reliable paid help in the future I will have to cut back . To make a big difference everyday for the earth and the environment help HAWKE wildlife! Donate funds , fish, supplies or your time to help rescue wildlife. For only $25 for an individual membership or $35 a year for a family you receive a tax deduction, spring and fall wildlife newsletter , photo and thank you, and two HAWKE "members open house" where you are invited to come see our facility, meet the volunteers and take photos of education birds . The next open house for members will be in the fall ( Nov. or Dec) HAWKE also has three major fund-raisers you can support by attending these events of or being an event sponsor " Dinner for the Birds at Raintree" Friday Nov 3rd , "Music for the Birds" recently held in March, and Dine on the Wild Side at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in May.
> I always try to answer the phone when people call , or return calls . Many wildlife rehabilitators in NE Florida are now closed, full, or not returning calls It is very difficult to keep wildlife centers going, its very expensive, stressful , time consuming, and many people can be out right rude or inconsiderate when calling and dealing with us.
> When we take in your injured hawk, run over turtle, baby otter , or the 13 bald eagles we cared for this 2006-7, that one bird or animal can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars to care, feed and medical expenses, before they can be released. When you drop off a critter at St. Johns Veterinarian Clinic On US South ( God Bless Them!) it would be nice if you could put some cash in our donation box or better yet leave a check for HAWKE to help with expenses . Even answering your phone call takes up valuable time and energy. We are the only center you will get ahold of , St Johns Wild Care does raccoons but she is overwhelmed now . Beaks and many other centers have closed and there will not be any new centers taking their place its too expensive to start one up and run it without full county support like the Marine Science Center in Volusia County.
> The E in HAWKE stands for education and prevents harm and encourages respect for wildlife. If you have a child in public or private school, chances are your child has attended one of my HAWKE educational programs that I have been presenting since 1980. HAWKE has been part of the Murray Middle School Earth Day celebration for over 15 years. Many boy scouts have earned their eagle scout awards doing a project for HAWKE. Girl Scouts are working on their Golden Awards here .. Flagler College students and others ,have done school projects through our center. HAWKE is one of the few rehabilitation centers in NE Florida licensed to take un-releasable live birds of prey to area schools to teach children about the wonder of the creatures here in Florida. I want the students to start looking around them and notice the birds, insects, and habitats and care about what effect they can have on them. HAWKE also has a DVD show that shows wildlife releases, and our work with other species of wildlife. TREE of Life has been a sponsor of our educational programs for over 12 years. but have not committed to any funding this year. We now need new sponsors to help so HAWKE can continue to visit area schools. So please check out our web site www.hawkewildlife.org you can e mail me from there) or give me a call at 904 692-1777 and become active in helping the earth and its creatures every day not just once a year.
> Thank You Melanie Cain-Stage president of HAWKE helphawke@windstream.net
> Donations to HAWKE PO BOX 188 Elkton FL 32033