Nearly 400 Mars Petcare Volunteers Help Hundreds of Tucson Pets

TUCSON, Ariz., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Volunteers from across the country gathered today to support Pima Animal Care Center and Christopher Columbus Dog Park, helping hundreds of pets looking for their forever homes. A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS® is the vision Mars Petcare aims to support by coming together with nearly 400 Mars Petcare Associates for an afternoon of service. The event, totaling more than 1,200 volunteer hours combined, is a key component of Mars Petcare's annual National Sales Planning Meeting, and represents the largest Mars Petcare US Mars Volunteer Program (MVP) event to date. 

"The National Sales Planning Meeting provides a unique opportunity for us to give back in a big way," said Rachel Chiappetta, Regional Grocery Director, Mars Petcare. "With Associates from all business units and locations gathered in one location, we're able to team up and make a large impact in a single afternoon."

At the Pima Animal Care Center, Mars Petcare volunteers will focus on painting bridges and walkways, adding AstroTurf to meet and greet yards, constructing a new roof to provide shade for a play area, improving fencing around the shelter's play yard, constructing cat enrichment shelving and landscaping. The adjacent Christopher Columbus Dog Park will receive sun sails to add shading to dog yards, added agility and enrichment areas for play yards, new water fountains, waste receptacles and benches. Volunteers will also construct dog and cat toys to add to the shelter's collection.

"Every day, in support of the BETTER WORLD FOR PETS® initiative, we work to make renovations like today's an ongoing priority," said Chiappetta. "In fact, improving shelters is a focus area for our BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program, where we're working to create a model for what a pet-friendly city looks like, including ensuring shelters are safe and welcoming, and that lead to forever homes."

Across Mars, Associates are encouraged to give their time, skills and passion to improve the world around them through MVP events – one of the company's signature volunteer programs. MVP offers Associates 16 hours of paid time off to volunteer in their backyards throughout the year. In the last year alone, Mars Petcare and its Associates' giving efforts in the US resulted in:  

• More than 4,000 volunteers giving back to their communities
• More than 15,000 volunteer hours
• Helping more than 43,000 pets and more than 40,000 people

To learn more about Mars Petcare and its MVP volunteer efforts, visit www.facebook.com/ABetterWorldforPets.

About Mars Petcare US
Mars Petcare is the world's leading pet nutrition and health care business. A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS® is the vision statement held by Mars Petcare as we believe that pets make our lives better and that pet ownership brings joy and benefits which should be accessible to everyone. In the United States, Mars Petcare food brands include PEDIGREE®, IAMS®, ROYAL CANIN®, GREENIES®, CESAR®, NUTRO® and SHEBA®. Veterinary practices include BANFIELD® and BLUE PEARL®. Specialty brands include WISDOM PANEL® Canine DNA Tests and WHISTLE® GPS Pet Tracker. The company's WALTHAM™ Centre for Pet Nutrition is a leading scientific authority on pet nutrition and wellbeing. Mars Petcare has more than 37,000 Associates worldwide. For more information about Mars Petcare's vision: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS®, visit https://www.facebook.com/ABetterWorldforPets.

SOURCE Mars Petcare US