Animal-Lovers Invited to Light Up the World for Orphan Pets
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (Sept. 14, 2022) – In just over one week, on Thursday, September 22, animal-lovers across the world will unite their voices for orphan animals by honoring Remember Me Thursday® (RMT). Social media postings using the hashtags #RememberMeThursday and #SeeTheLight, as well as candle lighting ceremonies, proclamations, and even flag-raisings, will remind the world that orphan animals need our help to raise awareness of their plight. The campaign, started just ten years ago by Helen Woodward Animal Center, has touched over 190 countries and has made over 2 billion social media impressions. For San Diegans, this special day can be honored locally in Helen Woodward Animal Center’s outdoor education pavilion September 22 at 9:00 a.m. PST. Whether attending in-person or on-line, here are important reasons to be a part of it!
THE HONORING OF A LOCAL HERO DOG – EVA:
As pet parents across the world understand, our pets become part of our family, and as such, we will go great lengths to keep them protected. What we have also found to be true is that, in moments of need, our pets would do the same for us. That was the case for Erin Wilson, a Northern California woman whose 2-year-old dog Eva came to her defense during a rare mountain lion attack.
On May 16, Erin and Eva, both lovers of the great outdoors, had stopped at a picnic area before exploring a trail along the Trinity River when out of a bush a mountain lion emerged and swiped at 24-year-old Erin. In that shocking and dire moment Erin screamed, and without hesitation, Eva came running to protect her and tackled the mountain lion. A tussle ensued as Erin ran to seek help from a driver passing by. Together, they distracted the lion with rocks until Eva was released from the mountain lion’s forceful grasp.
Sharing her story with Helen Woodward Animal Center, Erin credits Eva with saving her life. The beloved Eva succumbed to her injuries in June, but her courage and loyalty will never be forgotten. Exemplary of the human-animal bond, the Center will present Erin with the 2022 Remember Me Thursday Pet Hero Award in honor of Eva at the Thursday, Sept. 22nd Ceremony.
ANIMAL-LOVERS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD UNITE VIA ZOOM TO SHARE THEIR SUPPORT:
Prompted by the pandemic, Helen Woodward Animal Center took its candle-lighting ceremony virtual in 2020 and something wonderful happened… Shelters across the globe were able to honor the day together. Now for the third year, the Center welcomes global participants to unite via ZOOM on Remember Me Thursday®. The 2022 speakers will include representatives from Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Kazahkstan, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. The ceremony will explore the state of animal welfare across the world and share how the pet adoption awareness campaign is being commemorated. The virtual program will also include words from RMT founder and Center President and CEO Mike Arms, a reading of the official RMT poem and a heartfelt candle-lighting in remembrance of the millions of orphan pets still waiting in shelters for their own forever homes.
2022 RMT SPOKESPERSON JASMINE TOOKES WILL SHARE HER LOVE OF ORPHAN PETS:
Each year, notable personalities, professional athletes, pet behaviorists and social media pet stars sign on as “luminaries,” committing to share their thoughts on pet adoption in videos and via their social media accounts throughout the campaign.
As the campaign’s 2022 Official Spokesperson, Jasmine Tookes is an international supermodel and a former Victoria’s Secret Angel. Tookes has appeared in editorials for Italian, American, French, German, and Spanish Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Numéro, W, and V. Her covers include Elle France February 2013, Vogue Espana March 2016, Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam July 2016, Maxim Magazine February 2017, and also Elle USA May 2017. In 2016, Jasmine joined forces with best friend and fellow model, Josephine to create JOJA – a community where the two share their workouts, health routines, and active lifestyles and just recently this year began selling their own line of activewear under the same name. Aside from her professional career, Jasmine is a passionate animal-lover and advocate. She grew up surrounded by animals including cats, rats and turtles and currently has two beloved dogs including a rescue named Rajah. This year, Tookes has already started encouraging her over 6 million social media fans to share their love and support for orphan pets during Thursday’s campaign.
Thursday’s ceremony will include the unveiling of Tookes’ RMT PSA, as well as her personal message regarding her own rescue pets.
The media and the public are invited to join Helen Woodward Animal Center on Remember Me Thursday®, September 22 at 9:00 a.m. PST to #SeeTheLight about pet adoption.
The public can also get involved by tweeting, tagging, posting and sharing the beauty and life-saving significance of pet adoption using the hashtags #RememberMeThursday and #SeeTheLight and tagging @hwac.
For more information on Remember Me Thursday® and a full list of participating celebrities and animal welfare organizations, go to www.remembermethursday.org.
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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.