I have come to "Fund My Travel" in efforts to secure funds to attend the Wildlife Rehabilitators Symposiums.There are usually three every year, the Florida, the National, and the International. I am a Florida State Permitted Wildlife Rehabber and receive no funding except for donations and my monthly SSD, as grants are hard to come by. I am not non-profit because as you know you must have an outside board of directors and I don't find that very convenient for one person. I may have up to 10 volunteers underneath me and would need to supply them with training and supplies. You may find all about these wonderfully educational symposiums at: http://www.fwra.org, http://www.nwrawildlife.org/content/nwra-symposium-2015, and http://theiwrc.org/symposium. Anyone who donates to my campaign will share in my cause and be saving many animals whose lives are endangered due to human civilizations' encroachment into the wild areas of our world.As a "wildlife rehabilitator" I have a veterinarian sponsor who specializes in "wild animal care" but my clinic is still charged the same as the general public and this can be a crucial factor in a managing a rehab. I became a State Permitted Wildlife Rehabilitator and have committed myself to do the best I can for these animals. Attending symposiums such as the "International Wildlife Rehabilitators Symposium" exposes me to all the knowledge and expertise of specialists such as scientists and veterinarians along with a vast networking of other wildlife rehabilitators Nationally and Internationally. I, previously, received my BS in Biology, concentrating on Animal biology and Behavior and have taken a grad course in DNA analysis as I hoped to use this for Forensic purposes. I am using that knowledge along with my "volunteer" experience to Rescue and Rehabilitate orphaned and injured wild animals. There are many precautions I must take in this line of work such as being exposed to Zoonoses (the process whereby an infectious disease is transmitted between species) or risk of physical injury from a scared animal. Then there is the heartache of losing these beautiful souls to fate. I have opened my own "wildlife rehabilitation clinic" after many hours of volunteering and graduating from college. "Knowledge" means lifesaving hours and even minutes in minimizing these poor creatures' pain and suffering.As you see within this campaign, the second photo I posted is of me and my Dad. He inspired me through "his" world wide travel on business as well as in taking our family on many camping trips as I grew up, exploring many areas of the US, going to zoos, to aquariums and to wildlife refuges; just being "out doors" in the wild enabled our family to be so wonderfully close to nature. I have "dedicated" my wildlife rehab to my "Dad" who was the kind of man that never gave up; he gave me the same drive he had to strive for what I feel deep in my heart. I could have chosen many paths but after much rehabilitation myself from a bad car accident I have come to appreciate how we all struggle so hard to survive. I can appreciate the determination an injured animal has to live, the strive to survive through much adversity and...I now have to say I would rather do this than anything else in the whole wild world. ....................And so any DONATION, however small, buys live saving time for a precious soul to live!