For 16 years in a row now The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons has a gala to raise funds to contribute to their mission of rehabilitating and successfully releasing animals back into the wild across Eastern Long Island.
Eastern Long Island’s only wildlife hospital, The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, Inc., is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of wild animals impacted by human encroachment on their habitat. It is a grass-roots organization that began with a few concerned friends and has grown to include over 3,000 members and supporters. The center operates as a full-service professional wildlife hospital, with licensed rehabilitators, biologists, animal behaviorists, and volunteers on staff. More than 300 people have been trained to help with wildlife rescues. The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center is located on Munn’s Pond Park through a cooperative licensing agreement with Suffolk County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation. The center is located on a greenbelt of public land parcels that stretches from Tiana Bay to Peconic Bay on the eastern end of Long Island, New York. This ecosystem is one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, with salt and freshwater wetlands, Pine Barrens, deciduous forest, and meadowland. As a result, it is an ideal location for a wildlife rehabilitation center. The hospital is intended solely for wild animals. There are no ambient noises or smells to stress the wildlife that is recovering within, unlike a veterinary hospital. Every year, the Wildlife Rescue Center receives over 10,000 calls for information or assistance regarding wild animal encounters. In addition, the center offers educational programs to local elementary and secondary schools. Local college students participate in cooperative education programs and internships. The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center has an annual operating budget of more than $650,000, almost entirely funded by generous donors. For more information, visit: www.wildliferescuecenter.org
This year’s gala which honored Michael Hayes was held at the Southampton Arts Center. The event chairs were Ingrid Edelman, Jane Gill, Missy Hargraves, Jonathan McCann and Lisa Baron Schenker. The emcee for the event was Award-winning animal advocate Jill Rappaport.
The highlight of the evening was board member Jeffrey Colle’s gift to the silent auction of a safari in Africa, at Buffalo Kloof in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province – which ended up selling multiple times to the great benefit of the Wildlife Rescue Center.
Guests were treated to live music from special musical guests Taylor Barton and G.E. Smith, cocktails, light fare, and a silent auction.
All guests were welcomed to the cocktail party, which featured appearances by some of the non-releasable hawks and owls that the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center has rehabilitated and now reside at the Center. All proceeds benefited the native wildlife treated at their hospital.
Notable attendees included: Michael Hayes, Kathleen Mulcahy, Noelle Dunlop, Missy Hargraves, Jill Rapaport, Beth Stern, Chuck Scarborough, Taylor Barton, G.E. Smith and Jean Shafiroff.
Sponsors of the 16th Annual Get Wild! Gala included:
Red Fox Sponsor
Penni Ludwig
Great Horned Owl Sponsors
Leslie L. Alexander Foundation, Max, Beau, Bubba, Elliot and Willow Colle, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Edelman, Andy Sabin Family Foundation, Lisa Baron Schenker and Gregg Schenker
Red Tailed Hawk Sponsors
Susan Allen, Linda Hackett, Linda Lloyd Lambert, Linda and Russell Munson, Katherine Rayner, Louise and Lenn Riggio, Jonathan and Wendy Turetsky.
Great Blue Heron Sponsor
Anonymous, Ellen and Chuck Scarborough, Christine Seddon-Grofik and George Grofik.
Snowy Egret Sponsor
Christine and Randall Blank, Roberta J.M. Olson and Alexander B.V. Johnson.
Eastern Screech Owl Sponsors
Missy Hargraves, Jonathan W. McCann
With Special Thanks to Express News Group, Lawlor Media Group, Charles Spitzner Nursery, Tito’s Vodka, Duckwalk Vineyards and Leslie Wine.
