In response, residents throughout the Alleghenies are trying to help any way they can, including collecting Dawn dish-washing liquid, which animal rescuers are using to remove oil from birds' feathers.

As of Thursday, officials collected nearly 2,600 dead birds in the area of the oil spill, and the oil was still washing up on shore.

The Young Professionals of the Alleghenies group collected more than 400 bottles of Dawn -- so much that it's too expensive for the group to ship it so they're driving it part of the way.

"We did this in about four weeks, and we had an outpouring of support from Bedford, Somerset, and all the people in Johnstown just showing up and dropping off Dawn," said Nicole Stolar, of the group.

Two girls started the campaign on Facebook. The group will drop the soap off at a mall in Parma, Ohio, where there is a shipping company that will transport the soap to the Gulf for free.

"The animals are such a small part of this, but it's the one thing we can do to help," Stolar said.