Title Sponsor More than Doubles Pet Food Donation to 230,000 lbs. from Coast to Coast
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (Nov. 18, 2019) – This week, animal rescue organizations and shelters, throughout Southern California and on the East Coast, will receive a massive holiday gift as we reach the halfway mark in the world’s largest pet adoption initiative, Home 4 the Holidays. Blue Buffalo, the title sponsor of the Helen Woodward Animal Center-original campaign, will unload 230,000 lbs of pet food to San Diego and New York City groups, more than doubling last year’s holiday donation. At the same time, Naturally Fresh will also delivery nine pallets of their premium kitten litter. Thursday, Nov. 21, the media is invited as representatives from approximately 30 west coast animal groups each pick up the high quality food and litter for the orphan pets in their care.
Since its start, Home 4 the Holidays has helped place more than 16 million pets (from over 4,000 participating global rescue partners) into loving homes. The program seeks to encourage families to find their four-legged family members at a shelter, rather than a pet store or breeder, during the holiday season when more families choose to bring home a new pet. This year, Blue Buffalo is extending a massive gift of holiday meals to orphan pets totaling 230,000 lbs to be divided among even more rescue groups than last year.
Blue Buffalo has supported Helen Woodward Animal Center’s holiday campaign since 2013. Last year, the campaign resulted in more than 1 million orphan dogs and cats united with loving families. 
“Blue Buffalo believes pets truly become family members and we are proud to support pet adoption programs through the year,” said Blue Buffalo Marketing Director Danielle Donegan. “The Home 4 the Holidays campaign is especially important to the animal shelter and rescue communities nationwide because it helps millions of orphan pets find forever homes.”
Many animal welfare organizations struggle with limited funding and many hungry mouths to feed, while juggling budgets with supply costs and medical expenses. The Coast-to-Coast Blue Buffalo Food Drop takes a big bite out of that burden; enabling shelters to focus on matching pets with loving families. Blue Buffalo is delivering several semi truckloads of foods each, to Helen Woodward Animal Center and the Center’s newest partner, Paws Crossed Animal Rescue in New York. The much-needed holiday meals will be distributed to approximately 60 pet rescues through those locations. Locally, those groups include; Volunteers in Defense of Animals, Lionel’s Legacy, The Barking Lot, Coastal German Shepard Rescue, Kitty Bungalow, Rovers Retreat, Love Your Feral Felines, Rescuing Cujo, Cat Adoption Services, The Animal Pad, Happy Hearts German Shepard Rescue, AV Dalmatian Rescue, and many others.
“Blue Buffalo does incredible things for animal rescue all over the country,” stated Helen Woodward Animal Center VP of Development Renee Resko. “We wholeheartedly appreciate their overwhelming support for Home 4 The Holidays and ongoing efforts to share the beauty of pet adoption with the masses. Their dedication and love for animals is evident and we’re honored to facilitate this amazing holiday delivery.
Helen Woodward Animal Center wants to continue to encourage rescue organizations to up their adoption efforts during the holiday season, when more families opt to bring home a new pet. For the second year, the Center is offering a rescue van or $25,000 to the organization who develops the most creative promotion to increase adoptions.
There are many ways to get involved in the Blue Buffalo Home 4 the Holidays campaign including adopting and encouraging friends to adopt and then showing the world your newly adopted best friend by posting a photo at https://app.wyng.com/2019IChoseToRescue, or sharing on Twitter or Instagram with #IChoseToRescue and tagging @hwac and @bluebuffalo. For more information about the campaign or to find participating local shelters and rescues groups, go to https://animalcenter.org/home-4-the-holidays.
The media is invited to join us on Thursday, Nov. 21, beginning at 8:30 a.m., as local rescue groups arrive in shifts to pick up the generous Blue Buffalo food donation at Helen Woodward Animal Center. Media with questions, please contact Helen Woodward Animal Center PR Director Jessica Gercke at (858) 756-4117 x335 or [email protected], or Helen Woodward Animal Center PR Manager Fernanda Lopez at (858) 756-4117 x379 or [email protected].
For information on Helen Woodward Animal Center, call 858-756-4117, visit www.animalcenter.org or stop by at 6461 El Apajo Road, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067.
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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 21 years ago, partner organizations in the Home 4 the Holidays campaign have helped more than 16 million families experience the joy of pet adoption, including more than 1.3 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.
About Blue Buffalo
Blue Buffalo, based in Wilton, Conn., is the nation’s leading natural pet food company, and provides natural foods and treats for dogs and cats under its BLUE Life Protection Formula, BLUE Wilderness, BLUE Basics, BLUE Freedom and BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet lines. Paying tribute to its founding mission, the Company, through the Blue Buffalo Foundation, is also a leading sponsor of pet cancer awareness and of critical studies of pet cancer, health, treatment and nutrition at top veterinary medical schools across the United States. For more information, visit www.BlueBuffalo.com.
