Hampton Bays - On Saturday night, May 7, 2011, the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons held its 14th Annual Auction at the Boardy Barn in Hampton Bays. Many came out to support the cause and bid on an abundance of great prizes.

Lisa Wallace, Gail Lundquist and Laurie Mastropaolo enjoyed the evening. (Christopher Beninati)

Located in Hampton Bays in a renovated barn, the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons opened in June of 2000, with a dedicated group of people from the local area who aspired to create something positive. Eleven years later the Center is now a full-scale animal hospital complete with an examination room, dietary preparation room, aviary complexes and much more to help the local wildlife.

"All of these people here have a warm heart for wildlife and the environment and they are so critical in what we do at the Center" said Board of Directors member Laurie Mastropaolo. "It is great to see the support we get year in and year out. I am so proud people take time out of their day to focus on our local wildlife, it is very important" she further explained.

The Wildlife Rescue Center is a not-for-profit organization and relies on a strong team and heavily on volunteers. "The Wildlife Rescue Center is a great place to volunteer because of the great cause and the welcoming atmosphere of the center," explains volunteer Lisa Wallace. "Helping our local wildlife is essential on Long Island and I hope one day more people will want to help."

Just as important as helping wildlife, the Center focuses on educating the public about animals and the environment. At the event was educational director, Dennis Fleury, along with his recently saved owl, Aiko. Dennis showed off Aiko and talked about her beautiful features and the amazing story of how she was saved.

Also dedicated to helping children and adults better understand how to live around wildlife and how to help animals, the Center has great programs for students to learn about habitat, wildlife biology, the ecology of ponds and much more. Classes are held from New York City all the way to Montauk.