ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 25, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando is celebrating the new covered play yard for its shelter dogs made possible through the Reed Nissan Pet Rescue Project with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, September 26, 2014, from 10 to 11 a.m. at its Orlando Animal Shelter, 2727 Conroy Road, Orlando, Florida 32839. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will join the Reed family and invited guests for the celebration.
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The Reed family has been in the automobile business in Central Florida for three generations. "We saw the opportunity to combine Mr. Reed's compassion for helping homeless dogs and his successful business of selling cars," said Aaron Hill, General Manager for Reed Nissan. "We are great at selling cars and we want to leverage that expertise to promote dogs in search of their forever homes."
"Florida is the Sunshine State and that sun makes it entirely too hot to exercise our shelter dogs outside on days with excessive heat," says Sean Hawkins, Director of Marketing and Philanthropy for Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando. "Covering our outdoor play yards with sun shades allows us the opportunity to provide much needed exercise and training for dogs almost year round. An average of 480 homeless pets find safety and refuge in our shelters every night and our goal is to provide at least 20 minutes of one-on-one interaction with each dog, every day. It's an impossible task when we cannot utilize the outdoor play yards when it's too hot outside," Hawkins said.
Every car sold by Reed Nissan generates a contribution to the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando. The Reed Nissan Pet Rescue Project has resulted in a $100,000 commitment from the dealership this year. Hill continued, "We want the community to know that we are much more than just a car dealership. We are indeed part of the community and we support causes that are important to us and important to our customers." In addition to financial contributions to the Pet Alliance, Reed Nissan profiles shelter dogs in its TV commercials and on its Pet Rescue Project web site.
"Strategic corporate partnerships are not only important for philanthropy, in the case of the collaboration with Reed Nissan, the partnership directly saves the lives of dogs and cats," said Hawkins. An important goal of the Reed Nissan Pet Rescue Project is to give as many homeless dogs as possible exposure through both television commercials and a special website that features all of the adoptable dogs from both Pet Alliance animal shelters. Hawkins adds, "Every dog featured in one of the TV commercials so far has found a forever home."
Consumers have definitive expectations for the role companies should play in addressing community issues. In a 2013 Cone Communications report on consumer attitudes, 87% of respondents said that a company's Corporate Social Responsibility influences decisions on what to buy or where to shop. The benefits of CSR extend far beyond brand halo with 93% of consumers reporting that they would continue buying products or services from companies that support community causes. "We want Central Florida car shoppers to buy from Reed Nissan and we want Reed Nissan to keep helping homeless pets find forever homes," Hawkins said.
Learn more about the project and see the animals up for adoption now at www.reedpetrescue.com.
About Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando
As the go-to pet experts across Central Florida, the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando does good things for dogs and cats and the people who love them. Formerly the SPCA of Central Florida, the organization's goal is to provide compassionate and knowledgeable services for pets and to be leaders in innovative animal care and veterinary medicine. More than 10,000 homeless dogs and cats will turn to the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando for caring, compassion, and hope through its two animal shelters this year. Highly skilled veterinarians will help and heal an additional 45,000 animals through two veterinary clinics. Providing shelter for animals in crisis, disaster response efforts, and pet food pantry programs for dogs and cats in need, thousands of additional animals are helped each year. Visit www.PetAllianceOrlando.org for more information.
