Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care surpasses $1M fundraising goal to build new wildlife hospital

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In just six months, supporters of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) have been able to raise the funds necessary to build a state-of-the-art wildlife hospital and recovery center in South Lake Tahoe.

It was announced in November that two of LTWC's most generous supporters, the Bently Foundation and MH Buckeye, stepped up in a major way by providing a challenge grant offering a dollar-for-dollar match up to $500,000 to fund the project.

"We would not be where we are today without their unwavering commitment to the LTWC mission to rescue, rehabilitate and release injured and orphaned wildlife. And without their matching grant, our vision of a wildlife hospital may have remained a dream deferred," said Greg Erfani, LTWC board, of Bently Foundation and MH Buckeye.

Even though Raising $500,000 to meet this match was a daunting task, Wildlife Heroes came together and accepted the challenge and raised more than $500,000.

The big dream of a new facility that is now becoming reality will include animal hospital services, a neonatal nursery, operating room, and recovery rooms, along with other care and treatment spaces needed for a full-service veterinary hospital, including 24-hour care services. When completed, rescued wild animals in the Lake Tahoe basin can be cared for in the region’s first dedicated wild animal hospital.

"Our community of Wildlife Heroes came together to raise more than $500,000 in just 6 months, satisfying the match and turning our big dream into a big plan," added Erfani. "The global support and generosity of The Bently Foundation and MH Buckeye and so many individual donors made this happen. They are true Wildlife Heroes!"

LTWC anticipates that construction of the new building will start in Spring of 2022 as soon as the weather and snowpack allow, and has targeted the Spring of 2023 to be fully operational.

Follow them on social media or visit LTWC.org for more information on a Grand Opening Celebration as they near completion. For more information, visit https://ltwc.org/wildlife-hospital/.