My Nonprofit Reviews
sunflower-sis
Review for Second Chance Wildlife Center Inc, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
I am so proud to have a facility like Second Chance Wildlife Center in our community. It is open every day of the year, even through blizzards and hurricanes, and offers, without charge, excellent care for orphaned or injured wildlife. I have been a volunteer for about ten years, because when I was young, there was no such rehab facility, and injured animals were often either euthanized by the family vet or, worse, orphaned animals were inexpertly treated by amateurs, and ended up malnourished and/or human imprinted. The dedicated and professional staff at SCWC treat all the animals humanely and help to educate the compassionate people who bring in animal patients.
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Some
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Quite well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
Review for Second Chance Wildlife Center Inc, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
I first heard of Second Chance from the Montgomery County Volunteers Office. I had just retired after working in telecommunications for 31 years. I wanted to do something different, and volunteering at SCWC certainly is! When I was growing up, in Washington, DC, my friends and I often found injured squirrels, and occasionally found baby birds. We once tried to keep a baby robin alive on our own. I’m not sure what we used as bird formula. I think it was some concoction of raw hamburger and diluted oatmeal, which we fed to him from a medicine dropper. He lived for several days, but he must have been in misery. We took the squirrel to my dog’s vet, loving and gentle, but unprepared to treat a wild animal. He, kindly, euthanized the squirrel, and consoled us children. In the 1960s, we didn’t know of any wildlife rehabilitators. I was happy to commit a few hours each week to SCWC, partly as penance for my youthful failures. I thought there would be tedium, as well as joys. Boy, was I wrong! I actually enjoy cleaning cages and kennels, even those of such unremarkable critters as starlings or pigeons. And there are opportunities to see the animals that most of us diurnal species miss, like flying squirrels, night herons and owls. We also see the common raptors, like Red Tailed hawks, cooper’s hawks, and kestrels, up close and personal. And we have occasional treats, like coots, soras, or indigo buntings. I find it therapeutic to help make even the most mundane opossums, groundhogs, and squirrels more comfortable during their short stays at the center. The greatest pleasure in volunteering at SCWC is working with the highly skilled, experienced, and dedicated staff. They, of course, are committed to treating the animals, and they save at least 60%, but they also show amazing compassion toward the people who bring the animals in, and patience with the volunteers and the public. If there had been a Second Chance Wildlife Center in my neighborhood fifty years ago, I’d probably still be a volunteer here, but I’d also, I hope, have memories of animals saved from painful death.
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What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
working with the incrdible staff, all of whom have to have people skills and also be very comfortable and knowledgeable in animal care.
The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
gentle, dedicated, compassionate, patient, open-minded, and reliable.
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
build a state-of-the-art facility for wildlife rehabilitation, and also pay its staff more competitive wages.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every week
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
