The HSUS and PetSmart Charities? Announce Pets for Life ...

September?25,?2012

$452,500 given to Ten Local Groups to Help Pets in Under-Served Communities

PetSmart Charities?

The Humane Society of the United States and PetSmart Charities? announced that ten local animal care organizations from around the country have been selected to receive the groups? Pets for Life Mentorship program grant, totaling $452,500 for the groups to provide direct, hands-on community outreach training tailored to help pets and pet owners in under-served neighborhoods.

?Just as there are food deserts in under-served communities, there are animal care deserts where pet owners don?t have access to veterinary care, pet supplies, and other services,? said Amanda Arrington, director for The HSUS? Pets for Life program. ?The Humane Society of the United States is pleased to partner with these local organizations and with PetSmart Charities to fill these gaps, and bring critical pet care services to under-served people and pets.?

?We?re proud to work with The Humane Society of the United States and these ten very deserving animal welfare organizations to help make a difference in their communities,? said Susana Della Maddalena, executive director, PetSmart Charities, Inc. ?The Pets for Life Mentorship program is a perfect example of our dedication to end pet homelessness by building awareness, engaging communities, and creating and funding lifesaving programs for pets.?

The trainings will be based on The Humane Society of the United States? Pets for Life outreach program and Community Outreach Toolkit, an interactive resource designed to guide animal care service providers and other social welfare advocates to develop and implement strategies to effectively deliver critical information and resources to under-served neighborhoods. The toolkit, which was funded by PetSmart Charities, focuses on outreach to areas where affordable and accessible general pet wellness care, including vaccinations, spay/neuter, dog training, as well as many other services, has not been made readily available.

The toolkit is free and available for any organization to use. It can be downloaded by visiting humanesociety.org/pfl-toolkit.

The following animal care organizations received the grant from The HSUS and PetSmart Charities:

Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County, Wash.???
Stray Rescue of St. Louis, Mo.???
All About Animals Rescue ? Warren, Mich.???
Friends of Animal Care and Control ? Phoenix, Ariz.???
Providence Animal Rescue League, R.I.???
Jefferson Parish SPCA, La.???
Humane Society of Charlotte, N.C.???
Animal Welfare Association ? Camden, N.J.???
Wisconsin Humane Society ? Milwaukee, Wisc.???
Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Inc. - Des Moines, Iowa???

The grant includes $25,000 for spay/neuter services, $10,000 for community outreach events, $5,000 for microchips and a training visit from The HSUS staff to plan an initial community outreach event. Additionally, Stray Rescue of St. Louis, Friends of Animal Care and Control, Providence Animal Rescue League, Jefferson Parish SPCA, and the Wisconsin Humane Society will receive $10,000 to cover pet care supplies (such as crates and flea/tick medication), and $1,500 for travel to an HSUS Pets for Life city for training. HSUS Pets for Life programs are currently in place in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Through its Pets for Life program, The HSUS extends the reach of animal welfare services, resources and information to people and pets in underserved communities. For more information on the program, click here. To support the program, consider donating your used vehicle to The HSUS, which directs all proceeds from those donations to The HSUS? Pets for Life program. For more information click here ? or call 877-836-6674.

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Media Contacts:
HSUS: Raul Arce-Contreras, 301.721.6440, rcontreras@humanesociety.org
PetSmart Charities: Steve Pawlowski, 623-516-3920, spawlowski@petsmartcharities.org

Source: http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2012/09/pets_for_life_mentorhip_grant_092512.html

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