3 minute read
Wildly Caring Through Connections
OEC Fiber’s reliability and cost helping local wildlife center connect people, animals with care
Effective communication is essential for any organization. Whether providing a service or educating the public, sharing information in a timely manner is crucial. This is especially true for one local wildlife care organization that OEC Fiber has been able to help transform.
WildCare in Noble is a non-profit that provides people a place to bring native wildlife struggling to survive with the goal of releasing them back into the wild. They provide food, shelter and top-notch medical care to more than 240 different species of native wildlife that are ill, injured or orphaned.
“Most people don’t have the knowledge or the resources to properly help. We provide a place for those people to bring the animals where they know they will get the very best possible care,” said Inger Giuffrida, WildCare Executive Director.
Their dedicated team made up of staff and volunteers provide aroundthe-clock care for over 7,000 animals each year. WildCare typically has anywhere between five and 600 animals on the property at any one time. That number can climb as high as 1,000 during “baby season” in the spring and summer.
Just as important as the care provided to the animals, is the education WildCare delivers to the public. A large percentage of the animals brought in are the result of avoidable negative human interactions.
“In some ways, we’re like the Lorax for wildlife,” Giuffrida said. “We speak for the animals.”
WildCare uses social media to help share information and give presentations on the proper care and interaction with animals whenever possible. This education and outreach have helped keep countless animals from being brought to their center each year.
Still, the most significant percentage of information is shared via phone. Individuals like Kristy Wicker, WildCare Education and Outreach Coordinator, spend hours on the phone each day speaking with concerned individuals that want to help members of Oklahoma’s native wildlife.
“There’s not a lot of places that people can go for good information about wildlife, and I find that people are desperate for that information,” Wicker said.
People call from all over Oklahoma and the surrounding states with questions about what they’ve seen and how they can help an animal in crisis. Without a reliable phone service, keeping access to this information for people is nearly impossible.
“Every time it rained, we had no phone service,” Giuffrida said of their previous service provider.
Their remote location makes cell service non-existent on much of the property. Add in the service disruptions, and people often found themselves struggling to reach them or even leave a message.
One additional issue they faced was being limited to a single phone line. This left people waiting to hear back from them, but with the unreliability of their service, those callbacks didn’t always happen.
Being able to make and receive multiple calls with OEC Fiber’s phone service not only allows them to reach more people, but the online portal gives them access to a variety of valuable features that ensure those who want to speak with someone on the phone can.
“Having that quality of service out here in the middle of nowhere is incredible.” Wicker said.
They had anticipated ongoing reliability issues after switching to OEC Fiber, but no such problems occurred. WildCare is one of the ten largest wildlife centers in the country but operates on a fraction of the budget.
“Our budget should be somewhere like $1.5 million. It’s $708,000,” Giuffrida said.
Most of their funding comes from donations. Even checks of $25 make a lasting impact. When you work on this kind of budget, finding a way to cut costs without sacrificing service is a necessity.
WildCare helps people learn how to better coexist with the animals they encounter and save countless Oklahoma wildlife each year through their education efforts.
“By caring for animals, we become better humans. We are a more human culture by caring for those that cannot care for themselves,” Giuffrida said.
OEC Fiber is proud to partner with organizations like WildCare, whose dedication to its passion and purpose matches its own.
To donate to WildCare or learn about volunteer opportunities, visit their website at www.wildcareoklahoma.org.
To learn more about how OEC Fiber can help your organization thrive by visit www.OECFiber.com/business or give our Fiber Business Team a call at 405-217-6784.
