Crawfordville , Florida ( CNN ) -- When Chris Beatty got word about the oil spill in the Gulf , like many Floridians , she wanted to help -- but she wanted to help in a very specific way . Beatty runs an organization called the Florida Wild Mammal Association ( FWMA ) in Crawfordville , Florida . The organization houses injured and sick wildlife and nurses them back to health so that they can be released back into the wild . Working very closely with animals , she realized that the region 's wildlife could be in serious danger because of the oil spill disaster . The FWMA takes in over a thousand animals a year -- possums , raccoons , deer and birds . Seeing images of oiled birds and wildlife splashed across the news channels , Beatty wanted to be ready in case they were called upon to take in these animals . After recognizing that people in her community were feeling the same way , Beatty and the FWMA organized a volunteer day and opened their doors to locals who wanted to help out . In just that one day they received roughly $ 19,000 in cash , supplies and free labor , including $ 5,400 in donations and $ 13,600 in labor and supplies . Beatty believes that her community wanted to help because the wildlife is so much a part of what the state is all about . `` The whole panhandle is a rural area , '' Beatty said . `` And that 's what our livelihoods depend on . So without wildlife , we 'd be very damaged . ''
Florida group gets cash , labor and supplies . Group leader : Livelihoods depend on taking care of wildlife . Shelter nurses injured and sick wildlife back to health so that they can be returned to the wild .