Riverside County Department of Animal Services (Calif.) Tops Division Five after Second Month of 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge
Shelter saves 2,805 pets in two months
NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that Riverside County Department of Animal Services in Jurupa Valley, Calif. is again at the top of the leaderboard in Division Five of the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, for sending 2,805 pets home during the first 60 days of the three-month competition, an increase of 566 lives saved over the same two months last year. Through August, 49 animal shelters from across the country will work to increase adoptions in order to win a piece of the more than $600,000 in ASPCA prize grants, including a grand prize of $100,000.
"Riverside County Department of Animal Services is really blowing us away with their amazing work," said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. "For the second month in a row, they're at the top of the leaderboard in the competition overall, with over 2,800 adoptions in just two months. And this is despite diverting some of their staff and resources to help with rescuing animals displaced by the recent wildfires in the area."
In addition to Riverside County Department of Animal Services, contestants in Division Five (those with an annual intake of more than 11,001 animals) for the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge are:
Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa
Animal Service Center Mesilla Valley in Las Cruces, N.M.
Houston Humane Society in Houston, Texas
Humane Society of South Mississippi in Gulfport, Miss.
Moreno Valley Animal Shelter in Moreno Valley, Calif.
San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control in San Bernardino, Calif.
The Animal Foundation in Las Vegas, Nev.
Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee, Wis.
The 49 contestants are working to save more animals – during the months of June, July and August 2013 – than they did over the same three-month period in 2012. Last year's competing shelters saved more than 56,000 cats and dogs during the contest, an increase of 14,376 over the same period in 2011.
The ASPCA and Rachael Ray will award a $100,000 grand prize to the shelter contestant that achieves the greatest increase in lives saved during this three-month period. The contestant that does the best job of engaging its community members in helping to save more animals will win $25,000. Those organizations that do the best in their divisions will be eligible for between $10,000 and $25,000 in additional grants. In total, $600,000 in grant funding will be awarded for increases in animal lives saved, as well as a photo contest and general participation.
All her life, Rachael Ray has been an advocate for animals and a supporter of animal welfare groups. Her love for animals and for her pit bull, Isaboo, inspired her to create a pet food called Nutrish® to raise money for animals in need. Ray donates a portion of her proceeds from the sale of Nutrish® to organizations like the ASPCA so they can implement programs like the $100K Challenge and support shelters and animal organizations around the country.
The ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge is a groundbreaking contest that challenges animal shelters across the country to come up with innovative ways to engage their communities and get more homeless cats and dogs into loving homes. For more information about the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, please visit www.aspca.org/100K.