Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Feb. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The kickoff to 2021 comes with some wonderful news thanks to the wrap-up of the 22nd Annual Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays campaign. Despite the challenges shelters faced due to the CDC’s pandemic regulations and restrictions, the 2020 campaign found homes for more than 1.2 million orphan pets through more than 4,200 participating organizations. Additionally, one special Home 4 the Holidays partner, Greene County Animal Control in Ohio, has a lot to celebrate as the recipient of the $25,000 campaign grant, awarded for the most successful and creative use of promotion to encourage adoptions through the holiday season.
Since its beginnings in 1999, 18.6 million orphan pets have found their forever homes through the three-month-long adoption drive that runs from the beginning of October to the first week in January each year. Started by Helen Woodward Animal Center President & CEO Mike Arms, Blue Buffalo Home 4 The Holidays aims to encourage holiday pet seekers to adopt their next pet rather than turn to pet stores or backyard breeders.
Last year, the campaign faced its challenges as COVID-19 forced many shelters to close and those that remained open were bound to strict adoption processes to maintain safety measures. The silver lining, however, was the number of families suddenly grounded at home and hoping for an orphan pet. In what can arguably be labeled one of the most difficult years on record, Helen Woodward Animal Center is delighted to announce that 4,200 participating Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays partner organizations stayed the course and found loving homes for 1.2 million orphan cats and dogs.
Along with the overall good news, one specific Home 4 the Holidays participating shelter has even more to celebrate. For the third year, a $25,000 grant was awarded as part of the Home 4 The Holidays Rescue Center Contest. Sponsored by Midwest Vet Supply, Merck, KVP, Churu, and Dechra, the grant money goes to the rescue group or shelter which best successfully and creatively promotes adoptions during the holidays.
This year’s contest winner is Greene County Animal Control. The Ohio shelter’s creative approach to promote adoptions included partnering with local businesses to sponsor pet fees, enlisting Girls Scouts to write letters to Santa from adoptable pets and sharing them on social media, and creating a virtual meet-and-greet studio to showcase orphan pets on local TV stations during the COVID-19 shutdowns. An additional tongue-in-cheek promotion fitting for the 2020 year, advertised a free roll of toilet paper with every adoption. Greene County Animal Control’s efforts resulted in 98 successful pet adoptions during the contest period.
Two other rescue organizations were awarded $2,000 each for their efforts to promote orphan pets during the holiday season. Wags & Walks from Los Angeles, California and Ulster County SPCA out of New York both earned truly honorable mentions for their wonderfully creative promotional campaigns.
Finally, the #IChoseToRescueContest got people buzzing about Home 4 the Holidays on social media. The contest asks participants to share why they chose to rescue and the impact their pets have had on their lives. Out of the 865 entries, three touching pets’ rescue stories were selected as winners, with each pet getting a one-year supply of Blue Buffalo pet food and $1,000 awarded to the pets’ former rescue organization – Humane Society of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, Save Our Cats and Kittens (SOCKS) of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and Angelico Cat Rescue, Inc. of Lauderhill, Florida.
Helen Woodward Animal Center offers an earnest congratulations to all the awarded shelters, and a heartfelt thanks to all the shelters that found loving homes for 1.2 million orphan pets this campaign season.
For more information about the campaign or to find participating local shelters and rescues groups, go to https://animalcenter.org/home-4-the-holidays.
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About Home 4 the Holidays (H4TH)
As one of the most successful pet adoption programs in the world, H4TH partners with thousands of animal organizations dedicated to finding forever homes for orphan pets. Founded by Helen Woodward Animal Center and in partnership with Blue Buffalo this year, the program began in 1999 with just 14 participating animal shelters in San Diego County. Since it began 22 years ago, partner organizations in the Home 4 the Holidays campaign have helped more than 18 million families experience the joy of pet adoption, including more than 1.2 million pet adoptions last year alone. For more information, please visit www.home4theholidays.org.
About Helen Woodward Animal Center
Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where “people help animals and animals help people.” Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 90,000 people and more than 10,000 animals annually through adoptions, educational and therapeutic programs both onsite and throughout the community. Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the International Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive, the International Remember Me Thursday® campaign and The Business of Saving Lives Workshops, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world. For more information, go to: www.animalcenter.org.
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