Paul Szmal: FLX Morning continues, it is 8.15, we're at 64, and I am joined now by Sarah Saylor. Sarah is the program director for the Wildlife Rockstars, part of Bridges for Brain Injury, and rather than having an animal in the studio this time, we wanted to take a minute to kind of do a reset and talk a little bit about the organization, what it does, how it helps people and so on and so forth. So Sarah joins us on the phone this morning. Sarah, good morning. How are you?
Sarah Saylor: Good morning, Paul. I'm doing great. How are you?
Paul Szmal: Doing great. Doing great. And why don't we start by explaining how long the Wildlife Rockstars has been around and what the organization actually does.
Sarah Saylor: Yes. So the Wildlife Rockstars and Bridges for Brain Injury has been around for 17 years. So our main mission is helping adults who've suffered from a traumatic brain injury recover and rehabilitate their lives. So the Wildlife Rockstars is a program that we do offer to our day program members, and it's where they get to take care of over 50 native, exotic, and farm animals, as well as travel and educate the public on traumatic brain injury awareness and animal conservation.
Paul Szmal: Right. Right. And this is an organization that has been, we've been partnered with now for a good long time now.
Sarah Saylor: Yeah, I think almost from the start, Paul.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. Yeah. And how many people participate in the program usually?
Sarah Saylor: So for our day program, we have a little over 40 participants that attend currently. We do have several other services that we provide throughout Bridges for Brain Injury. So we do serve other adults with disabilities, not necessarily attending our structured day program, but helping them in other ways, making appointments, transportation, grocery shopping, those types of things.
Paul Szmal: And I've witnessed some of the success stories over the years of people that have come into the program and have been part of, in particular, the Wildlife Rockstars, and really watched them grow and blossom and come away from what would normally be something that could really derail their lives, finding a new pathway.
Sarah Saylor: 100 percent. It's totally turning tragedy into triumph, and you see it every single day. The participants are very inspiring. They all have their own unique story of how they acquired their traumatic brain injury, and it really pulls on your heartstrings. And to be able to give them a life with purpose again is one of the best feelings in the world.
Paul Szmal: I have to think for you, Sarah, it's got to be rewarding to watch that transformation take place.
Sarah Saylor: It is. It's one of my favorite things to do, actually. So when I started, I started as a volunteer almost 15 years ago. So I was interested in the animal program, but once I started meeting all of the participants, I absolutely fell in love and have been here ever since.
Paul Szmal: We're talking with Sarah Saylor, she's the program director for the Wildlife Rockstars. You usually hear them about once a month here with us on FLX Morning, where a couple of the members of the Wildlife Rockstars program will bring an animal in and they'll explain, we'll talk about the animal, so on and so forth. But this time we're talking with Sarah about the organization itself. How is the organization funded?
Sarah Saylor: So we are funded through our services. So that goes through Medicaid for our day program and our main source of income for the Wildlife Rockstars program is our presentations as well as sponsors. So we're always looking for sponsors and donations.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. And I know one of those ongoing things that you do is a bottle and can drive that you have ongoing.
Sarah Saylor: Yes. Yes. So that is one thing that I was going to mention. So we have an ongoing can and bottle drive and it's actually, it's been doing great. People are dropping off their cans and bottles. They're bringing them to several different locations. So we do have all of that on our website, the different locations that you can bring them. And if the people are local, we are willing to pick up any of the cans and bottles. So it all goes directly into day program activities as well as animal care for the animals.
Paul Szmal: And why don't we give out that website right now since we're talking about it?
Sarah Saylor: Yep. So it's going to be wildliferockstars.com or bridgesforbraininjury.org. They're going to bring you to the same page and you're able to see all of the services that we offer through Bridges for Brain Injury as well as all of the Wildlife Rockstar encounters that we offer too.
Paul Szmal: Now you've got a Wildlife Week auction that is coming up as a fundraiser as well.
Sarah Saylor: Yes. Yes. So the Wildlife Week fundraiser is something we've been doing for about six years now and it is our biggest fundraiser of the year. So what we do during Wildlife Week is we do an online silent auction. So you're able to find all of that through our Facebook pages, which are going to be Wildlife Rockstars and Bridges for Brain Injury. And you're able to bid on tons of different gift packages, event tickets, gift cards, hotel stays. I think we even have an opportunity to run out a pontoon boat. So there's a great way to get early Christmas presents at a cheaper price as well as supporting a wonderful cause. And at this time, we're actually looking for any donations that we can put into our online auction, which would include what I just previously said, such as event tickets, travel or experience packages, hotel stays, gift cards, gift packages like baskets that might be fall themed or Christmas themed. So we're super excited to launch that and are always looking for any help.
Paul Szmal: Yes. And how can people make those donations, by the way, if they want to take part in that?
Sarah Saylor: Yeah, so you can reach out to us. We will start posting on our Facebook page. But if you go to our website, there are several ways to contact us. We also are picking those up as well. So if there's any organizations out there that are willing to donate any gift cards, we will gladly come and pick those up.
Paul Szmal: Now, I know you talked about presentations. That is one of the cornerstones of the Wildlife Rockstars program. There was the successful summer series at the Eastview Mall that you guys did this year. And that's just one small facet of the variety of presentations that you go out and do.
Sarah Saylor: Yes, Paul. We were very glad to do the Wildlife Wednesdays at Eastview Mall the entire summer. It just actually ended a few Wednesdays ago. But we actually have a really packed fall as well as Christmas time. So this Sunday, we're going to be at the Rock the Riverway, which is at the Ontario Beach Park. It's a wonderful event. So that's one place that you can see us. And then throughout October, we will be doing a trip over to Morgan's Farm Market on October 18th. And then October 25th, we're doing a Trunk-O-Treat event in Canandaigua.
Paul Szmal: Then you're already starting to book for 2026, I would imagine.
Sarah Saylor: Yes, we are starting to book for 2026. You can find all of the information on our website, how to reach out. We do fill up very, very quickly. We already have a lot of presentations booked in 2026. So we're super excited about that. And actually, for this year of 2025, we did more presentations than we ever have before. So, so far, we've already done over 160 presentations.
Paul Szmal: Wow, that's a big number for this year.
Sarah Saylor: Yes, yes. We've been very busy typically for summertime. But we're very thankful that we're reaching so many people and it's keeping us busy all year round.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. And if you want to get on board and have a presentation and maybe even have a presentation at a birthday party, that is something that is a little bit different. You can reach out to the Wildlife Rockstars. Again, the web address is wildliferockstars.com or bridgesforbraininjury.org. Did I get those right, Sarah?
Sarah Saylor: You did. You got those absolutely correct. And yes, our birthday party encounter is absolutely amazing. We have our own venue at our farm that people can book to do a birthday party with us. And it's one of the most absolutely beautiful settings to have a birthday party.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, and that is a cool place. I haven't had a chance to visit it yet. But from what the gang that have come in over the past couple of times have told me about it, as the property continues to grow and develop, it's turning into a really special place.
Sarah Saylor: Yes, it's very, very special. And we do have a few new farm animals over at our farm. So we do have some alpaca and some goats. And we definitely should set up a time for you to come over and visit the farm.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, I would love that, to be able to see all the animals and everything. I am there.
Sarah Saylor: All right, Sarah, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Much appreciated. And we look forward to continued visits with the Wildlife Rockstars as we continue on here through the years.
Sarah Saylor: Yeah, thank you so much, Paul. I hope you have a great rest of your month and look forward to seeing you in October.
Paul Szmal: Okay, it is 826 now on FLX Morning.
