Save Our Seabirds receives grant to enhance avian rehabilitation
Save Our Seabirds has received a $10,000 grant through the Bill and Maryann Vinall Fund and the Thomas Robert Wall Family Foundation Fund of the Manatee Community Foundation for avian rehabilitation, including hospital staff, medicines, bandages, and food.
The City Island-based nonprofit responds to more than 5,000 calls annually involving birds in distress. Staff and volunteers provide rescue care throughout Manatee County from the Skyway Bridge and Anna Maria Island to northern Sarasota Bay and throughout Lakewood Ranch.
“We are very grateful for the generous support from the Manatee Community Foundation for the resource we provide our community," SOS CEO Aaron Virgin said. "As Manatee County continues its unprecedented growth, SOS will undoubtedly be expanding its rescue reach as birds get in trouble."
SOS hired its first avian veterinarian, Dr. Maria Passarelli, in late 2020. The hiring has allowed SOS to do more complex procedures in-house, and to begin an expansion of the current hospital.
Save Our Seabirds is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to rescue and rehabilitate sick and injured birds, releasing as many as possible. Birds that are unable to be released are given permanent home in the Wild Bird Learning Center. The facility is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free. Donations are appreciated. For more information, visit saveourseabirds.org.
Submitted by Aaron Virgin
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Save Our Seabirds receives grant to enhance avian rehabilitation
