- February 13, 2026
Samadhi Wildlife has found a forever home. Now, it just needs to get it ready for its animals — and that means building it from the ground up.
Thanks to the community support last Christmas, the Ormond Beach wildlife sanctuary raised over $100,000 through its GoFundMe after learning that they were at risk of being evicted, as the property they are currently renting at 289 Pine Woods Drive was being foreclosed. The courts had no records of the property owner having a tenant at the address, despite the nonprofit paying $45,000 in rent since moving in on July 1, 2024.
Samadhi Wildlife Founder Dawn Barbone and her partner, Vice President Jesse Heilman, were originally hoping to buy the property to avoid having to relocate. But through this process, the couple realized that renting was no longer a viable option for Samadhi Wildlife.
"We're in a five-year lease, but we're on unstable ground," Barbone said. "This is still a property that is foreclosed ... We can't worry about what they're doing behind the scenes. We had to move on."
And moving on meant finding land.
Using community donations, Samadhi Wildlife was able to purchase an undeveloped 10-acre property in Durrance Acres, in the Flagler County portion of Ormond Beach.
With dozens of injured and orphaned native Florida species, as well as several long-term animals who are unable to be released to the wild, moving is going to be difficult. But before taking that step, Samadhi Wildlife has to prepare the land — clear what's necessary and construct the infrastructure to support the sanctuary.
Land surveying. Permit fees. Building new habitats. Water and electricity. Perimeter fencing to keep wildlife safe. The property needs it all.
"It was necessary to go this route for the need," Heilman said. "We couldn't buy something that was built to live in and try to manufacture a wildlife rescue out of it again."
As the nonprofit operates solely on donations, Samadhi Wildlife recently launched the second phase of its GoFundMe fundraiser, this time with a goal to raise $150,000. As of the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 13, the nonprofit has raised over $4,100.
"We are operating out of a place that we have to leave and going to a place we cannot use," Barbone said. "So we are on the most shaky, unstable ground and our future is completely uncertain."
Samadhi Wildlife takes in animals — displaced, sick, orphaned and injured — from across Central Florida. They've also gotten animals from as far south as Miami. Law enforcement agencies and other animal nonprofits regularly bring them animals.
"We keep our doors open even when we're beyond capacity," Barbone said, adding that without Samadhi Wildlife, these animals would not have a place to go.
Space and resources have always been the nonprofit's main challenges. The facility Barbone and Heilman plan to construct for Samadhi Wildlife aims to change that.
The future vision for Samadhi Wildlife is to construct a facility where the nonprofit can expand its number of volunteers. Currently, the main hub for the nonprofit doubles as Barbone's and Heilman's home. The new property allows them the space to construct species-specific habitats and, eventually, an onsite medical intake clinic.
"We have a veterinarian that's basically working with us now, and she wants to take what we do to the next level as far as vet care," Heilman said.
Surrounded by other undeveloped land, the new property will also allow Samadhi Wildlife to release rehabbed animals into the wild directly outside the sanctuary.
Based on the support from the last fundraiser, Heilman said they know now that the community has their back.
"Piece by piece, members of our community are getting behind us to help — even the amount of people that want to go out there and do this land clearing by hand is unbelievable," he said.
According to the GoFundMe, Samadhi Wildlife seeks to complete construction of needed infrastructure by Aug. 1.
Every day, Samadhi Wildlife receives numerous calls, texts and emails from people wanting to volunteer and help with their mission.
"That's the heart and spirit behind our organization," Heilman said. 'We have all the little supporters. We have the people who can't afford to do it, willing to do it. ... That is the coolest thing that our organization has that literally brings me to tears, because it's not necessarily for us."
It's for the work Samadhi Wildlife does, he said. It's for the animals.
They do it to give animals — many of which have been displaced by development — a second chance, Barbone said.
"When you take an animal that is suffering, alone in the worst state, and then they come to us, and we're able to provide them with the medical care and the comfort and the warmth and the safety that they need to recover — it's wonderful," Barbone said. "And then at the end of it, when we're able to release them and watch them go, it's incredible. There's nothing more important to me."
Heilman said he gets chills when he sees the moment an injured animal understands it's getting help.
"You can literally just feel the energy, and a lot of the times that happens when somebody who brought us the animal is still here," he said. "...Then they see the energy change because it meets love and truth as soon as it walks through that gate."
And as they get ready to start a new chapter, Heilman said they want the community to feel part of Samadhi Wildlife.
"We want the community to feel connected to us and a part of our journey," Heilman said. "We are going to be moving forward with this mission, and we're going to be doing it for the rest of our lives, and we want the community to be part of that foundation."
Want to help? Visit samadhiwildlife.org or https://gofund.me/683da5f25.
