The Petco Foundation Empowers Adopters to Help Grant Holiday Wishes

SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Petco Foundation, in partnership with Halo, Purely for Pets, announced the third annual Holiday Wishes campaign, which  awards grants to animal welfare organizations across the country that are busy at work ensuring the pets in their communities have homes for the holidays.

Beginning today, pet adopters can nominate the animal welfare organization where they adopted their pet by submitting their adoption story online at petco.com/holidaywishes. Adoption stories will be reviewed by the Petco Foundation and Halo, Purely for Pets, and the animal welfare organizations named in the winning entries will be awarded a Holiday Wishes grant.

"At the Petco Foundation we believe that Love Changes Everything. And this year's Holiday Wishes campaign celebrates the loving relationships between adopters and their pets," said Petco Foundation executive director Susanne Kogut. "A $100,000 grant will absolutely make Holiday Wishes come true for an organization that is working hard every day to save animal lives. For two years now, we have experienced tears of joy when we present the checks to the winning organizations. This year, adopters throughout the country have the power to make this happen and can share in the experience with us."

In 2014, the Petco Foundation and Halo, Purely for Pets partnered to provide half a million dollars of grant funding for 33 Holiday Wishes winners, including $100,000 for grand prize recipient Animal Alliance of New Jersey in Lambertville, N.J. Similarly, 2015 grant opportunities will include one Grand Prize winner ($100,000); two Second Place award winners ($50,000 each); five Third Place award winners ($25,000 each); ten awards of $10,000; and fifteen awards of $5,000. Additionally, Halo Purely for Pets will provide a year's supply of dog or cat food to the adopter who nominates the animal welfare organization that is awarded the top $100,000 grant.

"Halo is proud to partner with the Petco Foundation for a third year to grant Holiday Wishes. This campaign is a fun and exciting way to reward the important lifesaving work being done throughout the country and shine a light on the joys of pet adoption," said Halo CEO Steve Marton.

Adopters can submit their stories to the Petco Foundation's Holiday Wishes grant campaign from October 1-31 – including photos. The Petco Foundation encourages adopters to submit their stories early in the process as it can only guarantee that the first 10,000 will be fully reviewed. The Petco Foundation plans to announce the winning stories in early December. 

For more information about the Holiday Wishes Grant Campaign visit www.petco.com/holidaywishes. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by using the campaign hashtag, #HolidayWishes2015.

About Petco Foundation
At the Petco Foundation, we believe that every animal deserves to live its best life.  Since 1999, we've invested more than $130 million in lifesaving animal welfare work to make that happen. With our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners, we inspire and empower communities to make a difference by investing in adoption and medical care programs, spay/neuter services, pet cancer research, service and therapy animals, and numerous other lifesaving initiatives. Through our Think Adoption First program, we partner with Petco stores and animal welfare organizations across the country to increase pet adoptions. So far, we've helped more than 4.2 million pets find their new loving families, and we're just getting started. Visit petcofoundation.org to learn more about how you can get involved. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or by using the hashtag #PetcoFoundation.

About Halo, Purely for Pets
For over 25 years, Halo, Purely for Pets® has created holistic pet products of uncompromising quality. Halo believes nutrition is the single most important factor in the quality of a pet's life. When you choose Halo, we feed it forward, donating over 1.5 million meals to shelter pets annually, in partnership with Freekibble.com. Ellen DeGeneres – a long time Halo customer – became part-owner in 2008. In 2010, Halo donated 1 million meals to shelter pets for the U.S. Postal Service Adopt a Shelter Pet Stamp Program. Halo now sponsors the acclaimed PBS series "Shelter Me," the Olate Dogs Rescue Tour 2014-15, LoveAnimals.org, and many more animal rescue efforts. Halo's natural dog food, natural cat food, treats, supplements and grooming products are available at Petco, Unleashed by Petco, and other fine pet specialty and natural food stores. Learn more www.halopets.com.

Petco Foundation: Reba Collins, (858) 886-6550, [email protected] 
Edelman: Parinaz Farzin, (323) 202-1892, [email protected]

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SOURCE Petco Foundation