August 12, 2005

Teeing off for the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley

Golfers needed to raise funds to help injured, sick and orphaned wild animals and birds

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

Like to play golf? Care about the wild animals of Santa Clara County? Then, Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley’s first annual charity golf tournament “Birdies on the Green” is right up your alley.

A baby heron. Photos courtesy of Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley

“The Wildlife Center is always looking for new ways to raise the critical funds we need to care for over 5,500 animals we receive every year while at the same time increasing the public’s awareness of the services the center provides,” said WCSV secretary and golf tournament chairperson Chris Simpson. “What better way than through an event such as the golf tournament where players of all calibers can help contribute to these goals?”

The “Birdies on the Green” tournament will be held at the Villages Golf and Country Club on August 29 at 10:30 and accepts two-somes, four-somes and single golfers. Players can take a shot at winning an Acura TL donated by Acura of Sunnyvale for a hole-in-one prize.

And if you can’t commit to the golf, just come for dinner at the Villages Clubhouse at 4:30 where attendees may bid at a silent auction. And 100 percent of the profits from this event will directly support nursing and the return of wildlife.

The WCSV is a non-profit organization that provides high quality care and rehabilitation to injured, sick and orphaned birds and mammals within Silicon Valley. After their hospice with WCSV, they are released. Their education program fosters a positive co-existence between the public and wildlife and speaks to over a hundred schools and organizations a year. One hundred and fifty volunteers care for the birds and mammals of over 100 species each year seven days a week, 365 days a year. WCSV needs to raise $291,500 this year to provide their services to wildlife rehabilitation and educational outreach services.

A vet examines a fox at the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley, an organization that provides care and rehabilitation to injured and sick animals.

The volunteers are a dedicated group who care about the wildlife. Some provide home care for the mammals and birds. The more wild creatures are cared for at the center on Penitencia Creek Road. Volunteers are trained in caring for the animals whether they are nourishing birds or hydrating ducks via feeding tubes. Deer team leader Dina Hawkins but is affectionately known as the “deer lady” and cares for many a fawn that has lost a mother.

“Some people will see a fawn nestled in the landscape and think the mother has left her young and bring them to the center,” said Hawkins. “But really the mother deer is just foraging for food and will return to her young. We try to educate people about their habits. From hummingbirds to black-tailed deer, we are committed to rehabilitate and release back to the wild all injured and orphaned wildlife that come to the center for help.”

But for now it is back to fundraising for WCSV. They have completed a much-needed predatory mammal enclosure from donations but they need non-designated funds just as badly. They are hoping the golf tournament, dinner and auction will help with the needed money to operate the center.

“Every day we spend money for food, medication and utilities,” said WCSV president Kathleen Cahill. “The tournament fundraiser is for our general fund. We have 150 volunteers, no volunteer coordinator and only one paid person to direct our animal care volunteers. We would very much like within the next year to add to our staff as we operate on a skeleton crew. And just paying for the basics is a large, ongoing expense.”

For more information on “Birdies on the Green” or WCSV call 408-929-WILD or go to www.wcsv.org.