SEATTLE, Jan. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Healthy Paws Foundation is proud to shine a light on organizations that have similar missions as their own: to save homeless pets with essential medical care and adoption services for forever homes. From natural disasters to students pursuing higher education, the Foundation exists to recognize those who are passionate about the welfare of animals. After donations to 50+ organizations totaling over $250,000 for 2018, the Foundation proudly shares some highlights:

The Healthy Paws Rescue Race
After the debut of the Healthy Paws Rescue Race in 2017, the foundation continued the initiative with three successful campaigns in 2018. The program's mission is to support pet welfare nonprofits by awarding them grants and giving some much-needed exposure through an online voting process. Six organizations are selected to "race" for the biggest grant of $20,000 by sharing on social media and word of mouth. The organization with the most votes takes home the biggest grant, but all participants are rewarded between $5,000 - $20,000. The winners from 2018 included:

• Rescue Race 2: April 2018 – Shadow's Fund
• Rescue Race 3: August 2018 – K9 Lifesavers
• Rescue Race 4: November 2018 – Pitties & Purrs

Giving Tuesday: Pet Food Pantries Benefit
Pet food banks and pantries keep pets in loving homes, assisting pet parents when they fall on hard times, whether that is an emergency, or a long-standing financial or medical situation. This extra assistance helps everyone from veterans to home-bound seniors, families in crisis to community members in need, as well as those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS or cancer.

The Foundation is proud to share that $5,000 grants were given to the following pet food pantries:

• STARelief (in Connecticut)
• Pet Buddies (in Georgia)
• People & Pets Together (in Minnesota)
• Don't Forget to Feed Me (in Texas)
• Colorado Pet Pantry (in Colorado)
• Pongo Fund (in OR & Southwest WA)

Natural Disaster Relief
This year has seen considerable natural disasters that affect not just humans, but our pets too. Wildfires ravaged California throughout much of the fall, while Hurricane Florence caused severe damage to the Carolinas in August and September. The Healthy Paws Foundation honored the following nonprofits with $5,000 grants for their exceptional (and urgently needed) work during these disasters:

• Milo Foundation (Bay-area, California wildfires)
• MAD Dog Rescue (Northern California wildfires)
• Operation Bring Animals Home (WI-area rescue that aided in hurricane relief)

For 2018, the Healthy Paws Foundation also supported Pawsitive Alliance's #WhyNotMePets campaign with a $25,000 grant. The Washington-area #WhyNotMePets program focuses on homeless pets that face obstacles with getting adopted. Whether they are long-term shelter residents or one of the harder-to-home animals, these pets need extra help in finding their forever home. This is the second year Healthy Paws has collaborated with Pawsitive Alliance and are proud to announce that this will continue throughout 2019.

Healthy Paws takes pride in helping pets and pet people nationwide. Find out more about the Foundation as well as Healthy Paws' simple pet insurance plan today at healthypawspetinsurance.com.

About Healthy Paws Pet Insurance® 
Healthy Paws is one of the leading pet insurance program providers in the U.S. for dogs and cats and ranked #1 by customers on leading review websites. Policies are underwritten and issued by ACE American Insurance Company, Indemnity Insurance Company of North America, ACE Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Atlantic Employers Insurance Company, Westchester Fire Insurance Company, and members of the Chubb Group.

The Healthy Paws Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides cash grants to pet adoption organizations specifically for life-saving vaccines, spay/neuter surgeries and advanced medical treatments for homeless pets in their care. Learn more about the Healthy Paws mission to save more homeless pets and how you can help. For more information about Healthy Paws Pet Insurance, visit https://www.healthypawspetinsurance.com/.

SOURCE The Healthy Paws Foundation