by David Ball
Staff Writer
Times are tough for growing non-profits these days, as shrinking government budgets are making it harder to find public dollars to fund organizations, particularly to pay salaries and operational costs.
But Barbara Y. Tidwell, director of the Wildlife Rescue Coalition of Northeast Florida, is optimistic about her recent request to Mayor John Peyton. Instead of money, Tidwell is asking for the Mayor’s endorsement to recognize private businesses that will hopefully be putting up the funds.
“It would cost them [the City] no money and no time, and I thought, ‘Wow, what a good benefit for the mayor,’ ” said Tidwell. “We just want to create a certificate from the Mayor’s office that recognizes businesses as environmentally friendly and wildlife supporters.”
Mayor Peyton’s Press Secretary Misty Skipper said he hasn’t yet reviewed Tidwell’s request, although “we certainly applaud the efforts of non-profits and of this group, particularly in finding ways to bring in private donations.”
Tidwell said businesses would get a new marketing and promotion tool while helping a worthy cause at the same time.
Tidwell owns and operates Some Place Like Home assisted living centers, although her hobby has always been animals. Three years ago, she saw a developing need to rescue and rehabilitate injured, orphaned and sick wildlife in Northeast Florida, and she became licensed in wildlife rehabilitation from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The only other area wildlife group, the Jacksonville Bird Emergency Aid and Kare Sanctuary (BEAKS), had just closed, and increased development was pushing more animals into the paths of humans and into Tidwell’s facility, which at the time was her backyard.
“I don’t think it could be run effectively out of somebody’s back yard, so it needed to be done professionally,” said Tidwell. “That’s when I started talking with business people to try and get property donated, supplies and grow the coalition.”
Today, the Wildlife Rescue Coalition has an 11-member Board of Directors (eventually expanding to 15 members) and operates a rescue and rehabilitation center east of Blanding Boulevard a few miles north of the Clay County line.
The land was donated by the neighboring Wells family, while the group operates out of trailers donated by W.W. Gay Construction. Dozens of raccoons, squirrels, possums and deer are kept in cages donated by the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. The Mayo Clinic of Jacksonville, Wal-Mart, Tom Nehl Trucking and other businesses have provided cash to cover costs of supplies, animal medication and food.
While volunteers do some of the work, Tidwell said the center still needs a dedicated staff, which right now is being paid for out of Tidwell’s pocket.
Wildlife Coordinator Laura Engelhardt and a few other staffers rotate shifts to care for the sometimes 100 animals at the center, helping to rehabilitate and release approximately 80 percent of them back into the wild. But that work leaves them little time for anything else.
“We are truly a one-man band here most of the time,” said Engelhardt. “If we could have funds for a person to come here for an hour or two and just clean and do laundry, that would be great.”
Engelhardt said they rarely turn away animals, which come in from all over the region. The group even responds to calls and requests from the Jacksonville Humane Society, Jacksonville Zoo and the City’s own animal control office.
“I think it’s a very important group,” said Michele Ryninger, adoption and rescue coordinator for City Animal Control. “I know if I get some wildlife in that is not too far gone, or orphans, I can call them and they are really good about taking them in.”
The group assisted the city so much during calls for injured or sick animals, that Tidwell said officials in animal control asked the group to tag on a $75,000 request to the department’s proposed 2007-08 budget. However, Tidwell said that won’t be possible now with the current budget crunch.
Still, Tidwell said she still holds out hope for the Mayor to sign off on her proposed business partnership plan. She said she needs to collect at least $100,000 a year to operate the center like other successful operations across Florida, which includes the addition of bird rescue and rehabilitation in the near future.
As far as where the money comes from, she said she hopes developers and others in the building industry step up, as loss of habitat is one of the main reasons animals end up at her facility.
“As each area is cleared, that displaces wildlife,” said Tidwell. “Hopefully, we will be able to get the community to support us, because this problem faces the entire community, and no one is really dealing it this except us.”
The Wildlife Rescue Coalition is holding a membership drive and fundraiser from 2-6 p.m. Sept. 29 at its facility at 6853 Seabord Ave. For more information, call 591-9585 or visit www.wildlifecoalition.com.