There are many ways in which you can help us continue our vital work. We are always in need of volunteers, or if fundraising is more your thing, then we have plenty of ideas to get you started! We also offer an exclusive chance to become a hedgehog helper for a day, which you can either sign yourself up for, or give it as a present to someone special.
Fundraising
Fundraising should be fun and enjoyable first and foremost! So when thinking about possible fundraising ideas please choose something you will enjoy doing as you are likely to raise more money that way.
We have had a wide variety of events held to raise money for WRAS which have included:
- Open gardens
- Cake sales
- Boot sales
- Garage sales
- Plant sales
- Sponsored bike rides
- Sponsored walks
- Bungee jumps
- Dress down days
- Quiz night
... And much more! You just need a little imagination to make a special event!
WRAS’s Trevor Week MBE may also be available to come along and visit if he is free, so do not hesitate to contact him and he will check his diary. You are welcome to collect a pull-up banner, some leaflets and newsletters from WRAS’s Casualty Centre by arrangement too.
Here are some other ways in which you can help WRAS raise money:
WRAS' Amazon wish list
WRAS has an Amazon wish list, where you can help us save money by buying items direct to help us out. The list ranges from animal food to IT equipment.
Greetings Cards
WRAS is supported by a couple of different greetings card companies which help raise money for our charity:
"The Greetings Card Company" To visit their website click here, but remember to select East Sussex Widlife Rescue as your chosen charity or we don't benefit.
"Make a difference cards" To visit WRAS 's card shop please click here.
Raise money via eBay
WRAS has an eBay shop where people can sell items and donate a percentage to WRAS, as well as WRAS selling its own items too. Simply visit us on eBay!
Savoo Search, Save and Raise
We’re excited to announce Savoo Search, Save and Raise as our new fundraising partner, and we’d like to introduce you to this innovative way of donating. Simply use Savoo Search as your default search engine (the same way as you would your crrent search engine) and Savoo will donate 1p for every search. If you’re looking to do some online shopping and want to get a great deal, Savoo has thousands of voucher codes and deals that will help you save money & they will donate to East Sussex WRAS at the same time. To join click here.
Order Heating Oil and help raise money for WRAS!
East Sussex WRAS has teamed up with boilerjuice.com and when you order online a donation will be made by BoilerJuice to East Sussex WRAS to help us save even more wildlife.
Scrap your car in aid of East Sussex WRAS
It's easy to do, just fill in the online form or call Giveacar. All they need is a couple of minutes to go through your details. Once they have your approval, they have a collection agent call you in order to arrange a convenient pick-up time. A tow truck usually arrives within 3 days to pick up your car, though in a few rare cases it may take up to 10 days. You can ensure a fast collection by also submitting an email address. Your car is sent to scrap or auction. They then donate the proceeds, after administrative costs, to East Sussex WRAS.
Sandra Palme Fine Pet Portraits
Sandra Palme is an amazing artist and really knows how to capture the true character of the pets she draws. To help support WRAS, Sandra is happy to donate to WRAS 15% of the value of any commissioned work when WRAS is mentioned. You can email Sandra for more information. Visit Sandra's website
The Spice of Life Company
10% of any order will be donated to East Sussex WRAS when placing an order with the Spice of Life Company where East Sussex WRAS is mentioned. Check out their website to see the range of gift boxes and more which are available.
Recycle your mobiles, inkjets, laser or toner cartridges
Recycling your mobile and cartridges is one of the easiest ways to raise funds. Visit the Recycle4Charity website to see how.
The Weather Lottery
The leading lottery fundraiser in the UK helps raise funds for Charity, Education, Sporting Organisations and other societies by offering a free lottery platform. Each player chooses 6 numbers between 0 and 9, inclusive. The player's chosen numbers are then matched against the second digit of temperatures in Fahrenheit in selected destinations around Europe. If a player chooses the winning numbers, they can win up to £200,000. Visit the website for more information.
Ark Wildlife affiliate scheme
Every time you shop at Ark Wildlife by going through the links on our site, they will donate 5% of your purchase to East Sussex WRAS.
JustGiving
You can set up your own sponsored events, in memory, marriage, birthday, celebration, or personnalised fundraising pages to help East Sussex WRAS help the thousands of animals and people who call on WRAS's service every year. Its easy to set up and fun to do. Visit WRAS' JustGiving page
Make an even bigger difference by setting up a monthly donation.
Via JustGiving you can set up an important monthly donation to WRAS. These monthly donation help make WRAS secure and help WRAS plan for the future and budget. The more people who set up monthly donations to WRAS the more people and casualties we can help and save. Donate monthly to WRAS via JustGiving
Search the web
We are pleased that everyclick.com has set up a homepage for supporters using their search engine to raise funds for East Sussex WRAS. You can join them by going to the link listed below, and then selecting everyclick as your home page on your computer. Every time you log on and use everyclick.com to search for something on the internet you raise funds for WRAS. It is surprising how quickly those pennies turn into pounds, you can also shop and raise funds too.
Shop online
You can shop online and raise money for WRAS using easyfundraising.org.uk. You need to ensure you select East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service (WRAS) as your selected charity in order to help raise funds. There are also ways of raising funds completely FREE OF CHARGE for WRAS by signing up for product trails by clicking on the "Raise Funds for Free" button once logged in.
WRAS is also registered with Missionfish and eBay, so you can shop on eBay and support us! eBay for Charity
Charity gift vouchers
Vounchers4Charity.org runs a gift voucher scheme which enables 3%* of all your shopping spend to be donated to the charity of your choice at no cost to you, by purchasing gift vouchers through the site! When you purchase vouchers from this site, online or by telephone, they make a donation of 3%* of the purchase value to the Charity YOU nominate. So please don’t forget to nominate East Sussex WRAS! You can purchase virtually any gift voucher through this site and donate 3%* to East Sussex WRAS! (*Tesco, J Sainsbury and ASDA currently 1%)
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Hedgehog Helper Experience
Are you struggling to find a suitable present for someone who is mad on hedgehogs? Why not buy them a "Become a Hedgehog Helper" Gift Certificate?
We are offering people the chance to spend the morning working at WRAS feeding and cleaning our hedgehogs, getting to handle some of them, as well as learning more about these fascinating creatures. The three hour placement is a great present and is suitable for anyone over the age of 13 but those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. We are unable to supervise children for you so for every 2 children there must be 1 adult to accompany them.
The day is divided into 3 stages:
- Stage 1: Is then to sit down and look at some of the problems hedgehogs face and what you can do to help hedgehogs and to learn when they are in trouble and in need of being rescued.
- Stage 2: Will be a look round the hospital where the hedgehogs are currently housed and we will show and explain how they are looked after and over wintered.
- Stage 3: Will be to help our volunteers to catch, clean out and feed some of the hedgehogs.
The placements take place at weekends. Date are dependent on availability of volunteer instructors. The sessions take place between 10am until 1pm. We hope to make additional times available in the future.
This three hour placement is available for only £40 for an adult. Children under 16 are just £20 per child but they must be accompanied by at least one full paying adult. We can take up to four people at a time. Adult groups of four will be discounted to £30 per person.
The Experience takes place at East Sussex WRAS's Casualty Care Centre at Unit 2, The Shaw Barn, Whitesmith, East Sussex, on the A22 between Hailsham, Lewes and Uckfield, Postcode BN8 6JD.
To book, please e-mail ellie@eastsussexwras.org.uk or call her on 01825873003
Please be aware that Ellie who co-ordinates the Hedgehog Helper Sessions may not be able to reply to your e-mail or phone calls straight away but will aim to get back to you as soon as possible. Our sessions are often fully booked several months in advance.
Follow us!Wish List
With the number of casualties seen at our centrr we are always in need of replenishing our supplies. On our amazon wish list is a number of smaller items as well as more expensive items that will help us provide the casualties the best care.
Click here to visit our Amazon Wish List.
If you need to enter a delivery address please use: East Sussex WRAS, Unit 2 The Shaw Barn, Whitesmith, East Sussex BN8 6JD.
Below are some of the more expensive items which you may wish to consider if undertaking fundraising or special events to raise money for WRAS.
Veterinary Ambulance.
Every year WRAS has to replace one of its veterinary ambulances. They are generally on the road for about 4-5 years and in that time each vehicle drives around 100,000 miles helping people who find sick, injured and orphaned wildlife.
We normally buy nearly new vehicles and transfer the equipment over from the old vehicle to the new each time, replacing any worn out equipment.
4 years ago Animal Friends Insurance paid for us to purchase a transit and in return they had their logo on both side of the vehicle. As well as being seen seen by the public driving around East Sussex from Brighton to Hastings and Eastbourne to Crowborough, as well as Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and Battle, the vehicle could easily appear on rescue footage used on You Tube, and used by local and national media.
Please contact Trevor Weeks direct on 01825873003 if you are interested in purchasing an ambulance for WRAS and having your company or name on the side of the vehicle.
Follow us!Talks
WRAS currently has the following presentations which can be undertaken at schools, colleges, universities and community groups:
The Work of East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service
This is a general PowerPoint presentation, using picture and video, approximatley one hour. The majority of the presentation is taken up by showing some of the casualties WRAS deals with and the situations which WRAS finds itself being called to, but it also gives some background on the charity, how it started, as well as how the organisation is run and funded. This presentation does not show any graphic images. This presentation is updated at least twice a year to ensure that photos and videos are up to date.
Hedgehog Awareness
This PowerPoint presentation which includes photos and video, lasts about 1 hour. It looks specifically at hedgehogs, their ecology, where they live, population, myths, problems, hazards and what to do if you find a hedgehog and how you can help. This presentation does not show any graphic images.
What is Wildlife?
This is a basic presentation aimed at 7-11 year olds and covers identification of wild animals, wild animal habitats and diets as well as common causes of illness and injury to wild animals. This talk last about 40 minutes. It also takes a look at some of the animals that WRAS has rescued previously and encourages an understanding of and empathy towards British wildlife. It also runs through some of WRAS's longest, most dangerous and unusual rescues.
Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release.
This PowerPoint presentation includes photos and video, can be edited to last from 60 minutes to 180 minutes. The presentation looks at the principles of Wildlife First Aid, the Production Line of Wildlife Rescue looking at everything from the initial phone call, site assessment, approach, methods of capture, hospitalisation, when to euthanase, methods of release as well as looking at various rescue situations and types of injuries dealt with. This presentation is aimed at colleges and universities and people studying animal or wildlife care courses. This presentation DOES include graphic images. Not suitable for those under 16.
These sessions can also include one of WRAS's main veterinary ambulances visiting and a tour of the vehicle, the equipment carrier and available for use on the ambulances.
Assembly, Ambulance Tour, and Educational Trailer.
WRAS is able to attend primary and secondary schools and undertake an assembly (either the "What is Wildlife Presentation for primary or "Work of the Wildlife Rescue" for Secondary Schools) followed by a tour of one of WRAS's main ambulances looking at the equipment carried and what it is used for and then being allowed to look round WRAS's educational trailer.
This normally takes place over a morning or afternoon for approximately 3 hours.
Video Clips:
This is an example of some of the rescues which are involved in our presentations:
Costs:
Community Groups: WRAS asks for a minimum donation of £50 for talks for talks up to 1 hour.
Schools and Colleges: We ask for a minimum donation of £100 this can either be a talk or multiple talks or an assembly, ambulance tour and educational trailer - over approximately 3 hours - i.e. covering 9am till 12noon or 1pm till 4pm.
Talks for Fundraising Purposes: If the talk is being used as a fundraiser or attendees are charged for attending the talk, WRAS asks for a minimum donation of £50 or £1 per person attending which ever is the greater.
Travel & Accomodation: In addtional to the above - for talks booked outside of East Sussex will also require travel expenses (and cheap accommodation depending of distance and start time).
If you are interested in booking a talk or presentation, please phone 01825873003.
Follow us!Savoo - Search, Save and Raise
East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service has recently partnered with Savoo.co.uk on a new and exciting fundraising project. Every time you use Savoo, you can be donating to us by either searching online, or using their voucher codes & deals to save money.
We’d like to introduce you to this innovative way of donating. Simply use Savoo Search as your default search engine (the same way as you would your current search engine) and Savoo will donate 1p for every search. If you’re looking to do some online shopping and want to get a great deal, Savoo has thousands of voucher codes and deals that will help you save money & they will donate to East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service at the same time.
In order to get started and help raise money for WRAS just click the Savoo image above.
Follow us!Charitable Bookings
Do you eat out or stay at hotels?
Then why not help raise funds for East Sussex WRAS at the same time. Its free to use, and everytime you use the app you raise £1 per person per booking for WRAS without any additional cost to yourself.
When you download the app to you mobile you will also get 100 free signature dish recipes by some of the best loved chefs from across the UK.
Its easy to do, so down load the app today via Google Play or the App Store.
Just remember to choose "East Sussex WRAS" as your chosen charity so we receive the free donation.
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Volunteering with WRAS
Thank you for taking the time look at volunteering with WRAS. All volunteering roles are focused around our Casualty Care Centre which is based on the A22 at Whitesmith, which is between Hailsham, Uckfield and Lewes.
Below is all the information you need to know about volunteering, including where we are, how to get to us, and the various roles which are available.
Unlike domestic animal rescue, all the casualties we deal with are wild, so it is important to be hands off, as they will all be frightened of humans to varying degrees.
Transportation
You will need a vehicle to get to our centre or alternatively you can catch the No. 54 bus which runs along the A22 from Uckfield to Eastbourne. Please be aware that buses do not run on a Sunday to our Centre. To find the latest and most up to date timetable please click on the link before and search for route 54 Eastbourne to Uckfield.
Timetable: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/timetables
To help plan your journey by public transport please go to East Sussex County Council's journey planner site by clicking here.
Feed and clean shift volunteer
Most volunteers will begin by joining a feed and clean shift before expanding to other roles. Feed and clean shift volunteers are expected to commit to at least one shift a week, on the same day each week. Morning shifts start at 9am whilst evening shifts start at 5pm. Both shifts may last up to 3 or 4 hours depending on the number of casualties at the centre at the time. Within your role as a part of the feed and clean shift you will be expected to feed and clean the cages of casualties in care, handle wildlife casualties, including birds and mammals - training will be provided on how to do this correctly - and undertake basic cleaning including sweeping and mopping. You must be fairly mobile as some cages are fairly low to the floor so will require kneeling and bending down to reach.
You must be over 16 to volunteer with us due to the high risk environment and insurance reasons, however anyone aged between 13 and 16 can volunteer if they are accompanied by a responsible adult during the shift.
Please remember that unlike domestic animals, wildlife will be frightened of humans, and therefore we need to keep our contact with them down to a minimum, keep noise and disturbance low, and handle them as little as possible.
Commitment is very important as the casualties rely on the volunteers to feed and clean them twice a day, every day, failure to turn up could jeopardise this which would be an offense under the Animal Welfare Act.
APPLY ONLINE:
Rescue volunteer
Rescue volunteers are responsible for the collection of wildlife casualties from the wild and their transportation to the casualty care centre. In some cases the animals may already be contained, in other circumstances the rescuer is responsible for catching the casualty and restraining them ready for transportation, this can require a certain amount of rational thinking and problem solving.
New rescuers will be paired with a long standing rescuer to enable them to get some training in different aspects of rescue work including correct handling and transportation, safety equipment and to gain some general experience before undertaking rescue work alone. WRAS has rescue volunteers which work 10am-6pm or 6pm-10pm based at the casualty care centre. Volunteers will need to be able to commit to the same shift and day each week.
Rescuers need a full driving licence. Our ambulances are fully insured for anyone over 25 to drive (this is subject to change). Those under 25 would be required to use their own vehicles if they wish to be on call, but they would be restricted to the less technical rescues unless they accompany an experienced rescuer who then drives a WRAS Ambulance.
APPLY ONLINE:
Orphan rearing team
Every year WRAS sees 100’s of baby birds come into care because they are sick and injured or have been abandoned. Some of which will need feeding from early in the morning to late in the evening, sometimes as often as every 15 minutes.
We require a team of committed and reliable volunteers to help us feed and clean the young birds that come into care, from tiny Robins and Blue tits to Swallows, Magpies, Jays as well as Tawney owls. No previous experience is needed.
During the height of the season feeds are a regular as every 15 minutes and some of the cages require some bending and lifting, this requires you to be fit and mobile.This is however extremely rewarding, being up close to these birds and seeing them grow and help them recover and eventually released.
Volunteers are expected to commit to one regular shift per week from roughly April-September (obviously holiday is allowed)
We are based on the A22 in Whitesmiths between Hailsham and Uckfield.
APPLY ONLINE:
Working in WRAS's Reception.
WRAS takes on volunteers to working in its new Reception area which was created in 2015. The role primarily involves answering the phone, entering information onto WRAS's Database and dealing with members of the public who turn up WRAS's Casualty Centre.
We are looking for volunteers who will togethger form cover between 9am and 6pm seven days a week. We need people to be able to do one or more shifts a week ideally 9am (or as soon after as possible) till 1:45pm, 1:15pm till 6pm, or all day, stick to the same shift and hours each week and people who are able to make a long term commitment, are good at talking on the phone and can use a computer. Training will be given on how to use WRAS's Database and how to deal with the incoming calls.
APPLY ONLINE:
Work Experience
We regularly have students from local schools and colleges complete their work placements with us. For more information please visit the 'Educational Resources' section of the website by clicking here.
What to consider before you Volunteer:
Under the Animal Welfare Act we have a legal responsibility to ensure that the casualties in our care are looked are properly. It is therefore important that volunteers are commited to their role and take the shared responsibility seriously.
It is advised that people have an up-to-date tetanus injection or booster. Although we don't force people to be vaccinated, it is the volunteers responsibility to ensure they are covered, stay covered or take responsibility for their health and any resulting problems as a result of not being covered by tetanus vaccination.
Please think about the following issues before you volunteer, if you wish to discuss any of these issue please feel free to raise your concerns below.
Do you have any health and mobility issues?
Are you about to go on holiday?
Are you about to stay in hospital, have an operation, or have a baby?
Are you scared of any animals or birds?
Are you about to start a job which will cause you problems committing to you shift?
Are you about to move home and will you be able to continue volunteering as a result?
Can you drive, catch the bus or get a lift into the centre?
Volunteer Taster Sessions:
After reading the information above, if you are unsure about the type of work, what is involved and whether this is right for you, then why not try one of our Volunteer Taster Sessions.
They take between 30 - 60 minutes. They involved visiting our Casualty Centre, going through a short presentation on the work of WRAS, cleaning out a cage and handling an animal under supervision and seeing where you would be working or based from. You will get the opportunity to ask questions and discuss whether this is right for you.
To book a session please contact Katey Edmundson on 07946 592 943. Please be aware that Katey is a volunteer so not always available to answer the phone and Volunteering Sessions need to be book at convenient times to fit around other activities which take place at our Casualty Centre.
PLEASE only contact one person, please do not contact Katey or Ellie or you will duplicate their work effect. So to avoid wasted time please only contact one person and give them a couple of days to reply.
Work Placements/Experiences:
If you are interested in a Work Placement or Work Experience please click here for more information.
Volunteer Guidelines Document:
For more detailed information about our working practices, Health & Safety, Code of Conduct, Volunteer Agreement and our Equal Opportunities Policy please download our Volunteer Guidelines Document by clicking on the link below.
New Volunteer Guidelines Document 2017
Apply to be a volunteer:
Please apply online via one of the forms below. Ellie will aim to reply to your application within 5 working days. If you have any questions our would like to speak to Ellie directly please call 01825 873003.
Rescuer application:
Orphan application:
General volunteering (Shop, DIY, reception)
Feed and clean application:
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