Pet food supplier Pet Valu has begun Pet Appreciation Month with its biggest, annual Companions for Change initiative.
For the month of June, over 600 stores in the Pet Valu family will be raising funds for Canadian animal organizations that provide support to local animals in need. On June 18 and 19, many stores will host National Adoption Weekend to help find the right forever homes for homeless pets in their communities.
“Every day small, community-based animal charities make a tremendous difference to thousands of Canadian animals. Pet Valu created Pet Appreciation Month to support these hard-working organizations,” says Tanbir Grover, chief marketing and digital officer. “As one of the founding initiatives of Companions for Change, Pet Appreciation Month has helped our national charitable program raise close to $11 million over the last 11 years to help local pet rescues, shelters, and other important animal causes across Canada. During lockdowns, many community-based shelters and charities were unable to host vital in-person fundraising events so supporting these organizations is more critical than ever as they need to overcome months of fundraising challenges.”
From June 1 to 30, all Pet Valu stores including locations under its regional banners–Bosley’s by Pet Valu, Paulmac’s Pets, Tisol, and Total Pet–will be selling paper PAWs. Customers can purchase a PAW for the donation amount of their choosing, dedicate it to a pet or loved one, and paste it up in the store. Each Pet Valu store has selected at least one local animal rescue or charity in their community to support and 100 per cent of the donations will go to the store’s designated charity.
One such organization that benefits from these donations is the Regional Animal Protection Society (RAPS), which operates the RAPS Cat Sanctuary; the RAPS Adoption & Education Centre, a fostering network; social enterprise thrift stores; and the full-service RAPS Animal Hospital in Richmond, British Columbia. “RAPS depends on animal-loving donors like Pet Valu to help us fulfill our mission,” says Eyal Lichtmann, CEO of Regional Animal Protection Society. “The product and financial donations we receive through Pet Appreciation Month each year help us provide our animals with the care they need.”
In addition to Pet Appreciation Month, each year, Pet Valu hosts an October Companions for Change event, which sees all stores raising funds, collecting product donations and hosting National Adoption Weekends to support local community rescues.
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