The sun shone down on a host of participants last Saturday in the fifth-annual “Wags and Menace Run for the Seals.”The 56 runners, joggers and strollers raised $1,340 in the 5k/10k fundraiser for the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center, said executive director Karen Helms.The fun run began and ended at the center, 424 Howe Dr. in Crescent City.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');“The funds go toward the medical care and feeding stranded and sick sea lions,” Helms said. “It goes a long way, when you consider we spend around $1 per pound for fish use three to four tons of fish per year.”Helms estimated the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center gets 500 to 600 calls a year with reports of sick or stranded seals along the 210 miles of beaches it covers, from the Oregon border to Shelter Cove, California.She said anywhere from 40 to 120 seals are successfully returned to the wild each year.In addition to funds raised through the race’s registration fees, Helms said, there were 24 sponsors covering all of the race’s expenses - with contributions of $50 and more - towards t-shirts, snacks, prizes, signs, fliers, race bags and medals.Helms said “Run for the Seals” is the center’s largest fundraiser of the year, although the organization also has events at Port O’ Pints Brewing Co., an annual booth at the Fourth of July celebration and a “Critter Crawl” in Humboldt County.“Our water bill is enormous,” Helms said. “We have no in-ground filtered pools, so we dump and fill the pools every day. Plus, there’s medical expenses, treatments, medications, surgeries and lab tests to run on all the animals that come in, including bloodwork.”In addition to rescuing seals, the mammal center helps preserve marine animals in general, including dolphins, the occasional otter, and a team dedicated to disentangling large whales from commercial fishing gear.Northcoast Marine Mammal Center has just one paid, part-time administrator. The rest are volunteers, about 28 depending on the season, Helms said, including a veterinarian, gift shop and animal caretakers.“There is not a lot of overhead and payroll,” she said. “Just one, very small amount of rent for the property we sit on. The funds truly do go to benefit animals.“Because we’re in such a remote area, we don’t have corporate funders, so we truly appreciate how the community supports us.”To learn more about the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center, visit their Facebook page or their website, northcoastmmc.org. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });