Best Friends Animal Society would like to thank The Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Spring 2009 Shelter+ Challenge with Petfinder.com. 20,000 times. Just hours ago, we learned Best Friends received the grand prize in this contest: $20,000!
We would also like to extend a gazillion “thank yous!” to our loyal friends and members, because without you, we literally wouldn’t be receiving this generous award.
Best Friends interim CEO Gregory Castle said he was “absolutely stunned and delighted” when he heard the news:
“This is truly a wonderful gift for us here at Best Friends,” says Castle. “We are very grateful to our loyal supporters and to The Animal Rescue Site and Petfinder.com. This $20,000 prize will go far to benefit all the animals at the sanctuary as well as support our ongoing outreach to work towards a time when there are No More Homeless Pets.”
For the 2009 Spring Shelter+ Challenge, approximately 4.1 million votes were cast for more than 12,000 shelters, all registered with Petfinder.com. According to Rosemary Jones, spokesperson for The Animal Rescue Site, Best Friends “took the lead early and held it throughout the duration of the contest for the grand prize.”
“I was talking today with Kim Saunders, the spokesperson from Petfinder.com about the Shelter+ Challenge,” says Jones. “And we agreed: both organizations love giving out the big grants, but what we really find so rewarding is how many organizations, large and small, benefit from this contest.”
The 2009 Spring Challenge doled out 74 grants totaling $100,000 to 60 animal welfare organizations. The $5,000 second prize went to Seminole County Animal Services in Sanford, Fla. Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Ovando, Mont. won the $3,000 third prize and Days End Farm Horse Rescue in Lisbon, Md. and Community Animal Rescue & Adoption, Inc. in Jackson Miss. won $1,500 honorable mentions.
This is the second shelter challenge funded by The Animal Rescue Site. Greg Hesterberg, president of The Animal Rescue Site and board member of Petfinder.com Foundation notes, “I’m very pleased to announce that The Animal Rescue Site will keep the Shelter+ Challenge going on a regular basis into the foreseeable future.”
The 15-week Shelter+ Challenge contest—which will launch again on September 15—offers the perfect win-win-win scenario. Visiting The Animal Rescue Site once a day and logging onto the “Click Here to Give” button allows The Animal Rescue Site to donate more than half of a bowl of food to animals in shelters registered with Petfinder.com. Since launching this initiative seven years ago The Animal Rescue Site has provided more than 266 million bowls of food to rescued animals in shelters and sanctuaries.
And why not get a head start on your holiday gift shopping by purchasing goods from The Animal Rescue Site store, proceeds from those sales also benefit the animals?
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Let's hear it for the home team! |
Of course, in September, Best Friends will be right there again at the “starting gate.” And for those organizations that have not yet participated, what are you waiting for?! Even the smallest animal welfare groups benefit from the challenge. In 2008, the Shelter+ Challenge grand prize went to the South Wood County Humane Society in the little town of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
“Even if your group doesn’t win the big money, there’s still a great deal to be gained by signing up for the Shelter+ Challenge,” notes Jones. “We hear from our participants all the time that simply by participating, The Animal Rescue Site has helped them raise awareness and funds for their organizations. And we will be doing more in the future to help shelters get the word out about their programs.”
And thanks to social networking like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook, the smaller organizations have the same opportunities to spread the word about their participation in the Shelter+ challenge. You can even become a fan of The Animal Rescue Site on Facebook (Jones hinted that there will be some interesting contests appearing there for animal lovers in August).
The next Shelter+ Challenge begins on Sept.15, but The Animal Rescue Site and Petfinder.com continue to meet the challenges for shelter animals every day. So don’t forget to visit www.theanimalrescuesite.com daily and press the “Click Here to Give” button. Then click on the “Shelter Challenge” link to vote for your favorite animal rescue or service organization.(You can even sign up to receive a daily reminder.) Shelter animals from all over the country will thank you!
Written by Amy Abern
Photos by Molly Wald, Sarah Ause, and Troy Snow
As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership, so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.
As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership, so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.
