SAN ANTONIO, Texas,
Dec. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Petco Foundation, a national non-profit that has invested more than
$260 million in lifesaving animal
welfare work, announced that 105 adopters have earned their animal
welfare organizations a grant award during the Petco Foundation's
seventh annual Holiday Wishes campaign. Since 2012, the Petco
Foundation has awarded more than $5
million to animal welfare organizations across the nation
during the annual Holiday Wishes campaign where more than 15,000
adopters have shared the stories of how their adopted pets brighten
their lives. This year, grant awards include a $100,000 grand prize, 55 finalist awards ranging
from $5,000 - $50,000 and 50 honorable mentions earning
$1,000 each.
The Petco Foundation and Petco, in partnership with Skechers and
its charitable footwear collection, BOBS from Skechers, are
celebrating the 105 winning Holiday Wishes stories and the animal
welfare organizations that made the adoption matches possible.
Winning adopters will receive a Petco shopping spree of up to
$1,000. Winners and honorable mention
recipients will each receive a pair of BOBS from Skechers shoes and
matching pet accessories.
"Pets brighten our lives in so many ways, small and large," said
Susanne Kogut, Petco Foundation
president. "We read story after story demonstrating just how much
of an impact adopted pets have on the lives of people all across
the country. We are so inspired by them and grateful to the animal
welfare organizations that make these adoption matches possible. We
can't wait to celebrate these individuals and their pets and make
Holiday Wishes come true for the animal welfare organizations that
do this lifesaving work every day."
Michael Greenberg, president of
Skechers, added: "We've been incredibly moved by the Holiday Wishes
winners' personal journeys. They are making a difference with their
local adoption agencies, which we are proud to support through our
efforts with BOBS from Skechers—a collection that aims to help save
lives of animals across the country."
Some of the selected stories include:
First Grade Class Convinces School to Adopt Dog: First
graders at a Michigan elementary
school used a class exercise in "persuasive writing" to convince
school administrators to adopt a school pet. The students wrote
letters to their principal, citing evidence on why dogs are
important for kids and the benefits of dogs in schools. Their
plan worked and Buddy arrived at the school, adopted by vice
principal, Karyn from the Humane Society and Animal Rescue of
Muskegon County. Buddy has turned
out to be the perfect dog for the school, somehow knowing what the
students and teachers alike might need. Today, Buddy brightens many
lives at the Title 1 school. Buddy helps calm students, cheers up
teachers and provides comfort when he's needed most. The students
wanted a dog...but Buddy was more than they could have hoped
for.
Adopted Pup Helps Student Heal After a School
Shooting: When Drew adopted a puppy named Lilly from
Peak Lab Rescue, he never imagined she would help him through the
most traumatic event of his life. "I thought 'School Shooting' was
just a headline until it happened to me," Drew wrote. The
University of North Carolina at
Charlotte student was shot in the back, requiring extensive
surgeries and hospitalization. "She made my recovery brighter by
doing goofy stuff like chasing her tail or flopping on her back for
belly rubs," Drew recalled. A year later, Drew is back in school,
and with his best friend Lilly's help, he's on the road to
recovery. "I make it through one class, and then the next. And
every day I come home to Lilly."
Shelter Dog Helps his Dad Find Happily Ever After: From
rescue to "I do," Ranger was with Chris every step of the way.
Moving to New Mexico inspired
Chris to adopt a dog from the Animal Humane Association of
New Mexico. Little did he know,
he'd end up finding his family, too. Lonely in his new town, Chris
headed to his local shelter to adopt a friend. There, he met the
shelter's behavior specialist who introduced Chris to his new
canine best friend...and, shortly after, the woman of his dreams.
"She's always said that the kindness and patience that were clear
in my interactions with Ranger were the only reason she gave me a
shot. We took the dogs hiking for our first date, and the rest is
history."
Dog Adds Joy to a Mother's Last Years: When Max
brought his adopted dog Isa home to meet his mother, Maria, it was
love at first wag. When Maria was diagnosed with pulmonary
fibrosis, Isa, adopted from Angels Among Us Pet Rescue, helped
bring joy and companionship in her final years on Maria's visits to
Atlanta from her native
Mexico. "When I got home after
work, my mom and Isa used to be outside walking," said Max. "My mom
used to talk to Isa, and they even watched Mexican soap operas
together. They were really and truly Mexican friends showing their
roots to each other."
Adopted Cat is the Companion One Busy M.D. Needed
Most: For Zehui, Bechamel the cat was just what the
doctor ordered. A New York City
doctor has found connection and companionship by adopting a cat
named Bechamel from Anjellicle Cats Rescue. During frantic hospital
days, Zehui has discovered how much pets remind patients of their
lives outside the hospital room. "Since Bechamel's arrival, I've
begun to ask questions about people's pets....People's eyes
brighten as I mention that I also have a cat and they share their
own pet's quirks and mischiefs for a quick laugh. In that moment,
it's a privilege to have a normal conversation. At the end of the
day, we all need a small purring furball to warm our hearts in a
sometimes very challenging world."
Holiday Wishes award celebrations will happen throughout the
month of December at Petco locations across the country.
All animal lovers can help make even more Holiday Wishes come
true by voting for their favorite Holiday Wishes story at
www.petcofoundation.org/holidaywishes. From now until noon CST on December 20,
2019, the "People's Choice Award" invites the public to vote
for their favorite winning story and will give the top five
organizations the chance to receive additional grant funding from
$5,000 to $25,000. Results of the "People's Choice Award"
will be revealed before Christmas.
To learn more about the Petco Foundation and the Holiday Wishes
campaign, visit www.petcofoundation.org/holidaywishes and
follow along on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to see the
celebrations in action. To learn more about BOBS from Skechers'
commitment to improving animals' lives through BOBS for Dogs and
BOBS for Cats, visit www.bobsfromskechers.com and follow the
brand on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
About the Petco Foundation
At the Petco Foundation, we believe that every animal deserves
to live its best life. Since 1999, we've invested more than
$260 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
and 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 6 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.
About Skechers U.S.A., Inc.
Based in Manhattan Beach,
California, Skechers (NYSE: SKX) designs, develops and
markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear for men, women and
children, as well as performance footwear for men and women.
Skechers footwear is available in the
United States and over 170 countries and territories
worldwide via department and specialty stores, more than 3,300
Skechers Company-owned and third-party-owned retail stores, and the
Company's e-commerce websites. The Company manages its
international business through a network of global distributors,
joint venture partners in Asia,
Israel and Mexico, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in
Canada, Japan, India,
and throughout Europe and
Latin America. For more
information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow
us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
About BOBS from Skechers
BOBS from Skechers' charitable collection of BOBS for Dogs and
BOBS for Cats shoes, apparel and accessories have improved animals'
lives: over the past four years, Skechers has contributed more than
$4.58 million to help more than
847,000 shelter pets, including saving more than 487,000 rescued
pets in the United States. It all
started in 2011, when Skechers launched a movement to support
children impacted by natural disasters and poverty – a cause that
has helped the Company donate more than 15 million pairs of new
pairs of shoes to kids in more than 60 countries worldwide. To
learn more about BOBS from Skechers' commitment to making a
difference, visit www.BOBSfromSkechers.com and follow the brand on
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Media Contact for the Petco Foundation
Lisa Lane, Director of Marketing and
Development
Lisa.lane@petco.com
Media Contact for Skechers U.S.A., Inc.
Jennifer Clay, Vice President of Corporate
Communications and Marketing
SKECHERS USA
jennc@skechers.com
(310) 937-1326
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that
are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements include, without limitation, Skechers' future domestic
and international growth, financial results and operations
including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new
products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and
international expansion, opening of new stores and additional
expenditures, and advertising and marketing initiatives.
Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking language such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect,"
"estimate," "intend," "plan," "project," "will be," "will
continue," "will result," "could," "may," "might," or any
variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected in
forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute
to such differences include international economic, political and
market conditions including the challenging consumer retail markets
in the United States; sustaining,
managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing
any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers
and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity
of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining
brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for
consumers, especially in the highly competitive performance
footwear market; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or
forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the
products and the various market factors described above; sales
levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling
seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference
in Skechers' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2018, and
its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended
September 30, 2019. The risks
included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very
competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from
time to time and we cannot predict all such risk factors, nor
can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our
business or operations or the extent to which any factor, or
combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual
results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an
indication of future performance.
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SOURCE Petco Foundation