Ways You Can Help WRT!

Donate!

Friends and Paddle Pals, like all of you, WRT has monthly bills to pay, even though they have been slashed to the bone in order to keep us paddling! We need your help to pay the rent on our “canoe shop,” our base of operations where we store our gear, supplies, some canoes and trailers. Thanks to your generosity, we’ve been able to keep our landlord happy, and are so grateful to our supporters! Thank you for helping us keep the waters of South Florida safer for wildlife through our canoe cleanups. YOU made a difference in this important mission!

A little history: without our “canoe shop” WRT could not exist. Until our NOAA grants began in 2001, we were forced to store bits and pieces hither and yon. Dr. Tom Kazo found the facility in early 2002 and had it professionally wired and a canoe rack built overhead. He sure loved our shop. Then, our grants ended in 2006, which was also the year our beloved Dr. Tom passed away. Our landlord has very kindly reduced our rent due to our long tenancy at their location, and because he remembers Dr. Tom with fondness.

During the pandemic, donations from a long-time volunteer, matched by their employer, sustained us. We are so grateful to that person, who has now informed us their situation has changed and donations are no longer affordable.

WRT now depends solely upon the kindhearted donations of the many people who believe in us.

Once upon a time someone suggested we should find a “fairy godmother with a barn or warehouse we could use for free.” That’s a lovely dream, but we must pay our own rent.

Beyond our rent, we have other expenses, just like any other business. Donations from a Facebook Fundraiser last year covered the refurbishment of our 4-canoe trailer which is now back on the road! Many thanks to all who donated, and to our volunteers who worked hard on this important project. And that’s just one example of what we need to keep the waters of Florida safer for wildlife!

Here’s the good news!

As all of us are volunteers, our YEARLY BUDGET is only $4,000! Meaning, every penny of your donation goes directly to our work on behalf of wildlife!

Other Ways to Help WRT:

Wildlife Research Team has been registered with Amazon Smile for several years, which has brought in some small but regular deposits. But for reasons of its own, Amazon has ended this program as of February 2023, which is sad news to us and to many other small nonprofits.

All is not lost, however! You can still buy things you need and help WRT, because we are also registered with iGive.com, a portal to hundreds of great online stores where you might already shop! Each store has a different amount they donate to us, with some of them very generous indeed: and again, it costs us, or you, nothing!

Become a valued Patron by setting up an automatic monthly donation! Even a small regular donation of $10 per month, from enough good people, adds up in a big way for WRT. Knowing that we have donations to count on allows us to plan further ahead and create a budget.

Of course we still accept cash and checks!

Please feel free to email Donna Kazo at paddle4research (at) yahoo.com with any questions.