 The children were very appreciative of our volunteers' time and efforts and decided to help us out. They engineered a "Read-a-thon" to benefit Liberty Wildlife. Much like a walk or run-a-thon benefit, the class members read books, adding up the words and pages for which they had signed up sponsors who donated a specified amount for each page that was read. In this effort, the class amassed over $700, which was used to sponsor Hedwig, one of our great horned owls. This was one of the first "adoptions" under our recently launched Assistance for Wildlife Educators program. The AWE program allows groups and individuals to sponsor or "adopt" a particular resident animal or an entire program at Liberty Wildlife. The funds generated go to the continuing upkeep of that program or animal. Hedwig was the first bird to be sponsored and is at the "Raptor" level, which requests a one-time donation of at least $250. A certificate of appreciation along with a trading card and a beautiful hardcover book about that animal and its species, produced by Liberty Wildlife, are given to the sponsoring group. Local donors also get a tour of the Liberty facilities.
 In December, we took two hawks that had been rehabilitated by Liberty for several months to Tesseract and allowed two of the third-grade teachers to release them into the sky on school property. The children watched as the two birds circled their sports field and landed in nearby trees. We then were able to load a large amount of supplies that they had collected for a donation. These kids were wonderful, and their commitment to the wildlife in Arizona and the continued health of the environment is truly inspiring! (Read more about the release and the AWE program at libertywildlife.org).
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