A Wing and a Prayer is hosting its annual dinner and silent auction this Saturday at the Port Carling Community Centre.

Viewing auction items starts at noon, with dinner taking place at 5 p.m. and the auction wrapping up between 6 and 7 p.m.

There will be wildlife presentations from the Muskoka Wildlife Centre as well as the Canadian Raptor Conservancy.

“The silent auction is amazing,” said Janice Enright, founder of the bird rehabilitation centre. “We have businesses and artists from all over Muskoka donating some tremendous items. And there’s golf, too.”  

Last year, between two fundraisers, one held in May and one in August, A Wing and a Prayer raised $15,000 for the bird rehabiliation centre, which helped over 500 injured birds.

Enright indicated that more than 95 per cent of the time, a bird is brought into the rehabilitation centre due to unnatural circumstances.

“A Wing and a Prayer expects that at least 500 birds will be admitted this year,” she said, adding that birds need the centre’s help as a result of run-ins with cars, windows, overhead wires, cats, sinkers and oil spills, to name a few. “We owe it to our wildlife when our lives get in their way.”

It is Enright’s hope that the entire Muskoka community will support A Wing and a Prayer whether it be by attending the fundraiser or by making a donation.

“We worked it out,” said Enright. “If everyone on our mailing list bought one ticket, that could take care of our needs until the middle of the fall. Even if you can’t attend, make a donation. It takes minutes and you can get a tax receipt.”

Tickets to a Wing and a Prayer’s annual fundraiser are $55 per ticket or two for $100 and free for children under seven years of age. Tickets are available at the Bracebridge Animal Hospital or by calling Janice Enright at 385-1488.