Mars Launches its Largest Animal Shelter Volunteer Program Ever to Address Urgent Shelter Crisis Across North America

News provided by

Oct 18, 2022, 07:00 ET

'Service Humans Needed' asks people to volunteer their time, homes and social platforms to help shelters and pets in need

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Mars Petcare – proudly part of the Mars family of brands - announced it is putting its strength and scale as the world's largest pet care company behind the launch of its largest shelter volunteer program ever. Supporting Mars Petcare's ambition to end pet homelessness, the program– Service Humans Needed – enlists the help of more than 60,000 Mars Associates and pet advocates across the U.S. and Canada to reciprocate the support our pets show us by volunteering acts of service to help shelters and pets in need.

Mars Petcare launches Service Humans Needed, its largest animal shelter volunteer program ever to address urgent shelter crisis across North America.

Additional photos and B-Roll can be downloaded here.

Across North America, shelters are on pace to have the worst rates of overpopulation and resource constraints in at least three years^¹, with more than 250,000 dogs and cats in U.S. shelters^² and 80,000 across Canada^³ who need our help. According to a recent survey from Adopt a Pet, nearly 9 in 10 animal shelters and rescue organizations in the U.S. reported that resource constraints and overpopulation have remained consistent or worsened since the first half of 2022.

"As the shelter crisis has developed in recent months, we talked with many partners across the animal welfare community about how and where we could best help," said Silja Schiller-Moumtzidis, Global Director of Shelters and Pet Adoptions, Mars Petcare. "Shelter teams work tirelessly to help pets in need. We are thrilled that by uniting Associates across Mars in a timely volunteer program, we can offer relief when it's needed most."

To help alleviate some of the resource challenges facing shelters, pet advocates and pet parents are being encouraged to become a "Service Human" to support pets in their communities in multiple ways, including:

Volunteering their time at local animal shelters
Volunteering their homes by fostering and adopting
Volunteering their social platforms by sharing adoptable shelter pets on social media

"Our Petcare purpose – A Better World for Pets – connects and inspires all Mars Associates giving us meaningful opportunities to make a difference in the lives of pets. With a growing shelter crisis, that means uniting all our Associates across our Mars businesses to step in and support shelters and pets in need," said Jam Stewart, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Mars Petcare. "Without hesitation, pets offer us support, companionship, protection and so much more. But right now, they need us and through small acts of service, we as a collective community can make a significant impact in helping cats and dogs in shelters find their forever homes."

Giving Back and Engaging More than 60,000 Mars Associates

Throughout the year, Mars Petcare and its brands support shelters and pets in need through in-kind and financial donations. Each year, Mars Pet Nutrition brands, including PEDIGREE®, and ROYAL CANIN®, donate millions of meals to shelter pets in need. PEDIGREE Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit established by Mars Petcare in 2008, has given more than $10 million in grants to shelters and rescues across the country since its inception. This year, PEDIGREE Foundation expanded its program efforts for the first time beyond the U.S. with the launch of PEDIGREE Foundation's Canadian Grant Program distributing $100,000 in grants to shelters across Canada. PEDIGREE Foundation will also announce its annual round of U.S. grant recipients before the end of the year.

In 2022 alone, the charitable arms of Mars Veterinary Health — Banfield Foundation and VCA Charities — have provided more than $3.2 million in grants to animal welfare organizations to help address the need for veterinary care, shelter transports and adoption readiness; VCA Charities provided 650,000 meals to pets in need; and collectively the two have supported veterinary care for more than 2,000 pets transported out of at-capacity shelters and into loving homes. The Bow Wow Buddies Foundation® is Camp Bow Wow's 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides veterinary care grants to dogs. So far in 2022, the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation has granted nearly $100,000 to 95 sick and injured dogs in need.

To build on the company's in-kind and financial support, through the Service Humans Needed program, Mars has called on the support of Associates spanning its North America businesses, including Mars Petcare, Mars Food, Mars Wrigley, Mars Edge, Mars Veterinary Health and Camp Bow Wow, by:

Encouraging 500,000 hours of Associate volunteer support at local shelters by fostering, adopting or volunteering their time through the end of the year.
Lending some of the company's biggest pet brands' social platforms, including PEDIGREE and Camp Bow Wow, to broaden awareness for pet and shelter needs.
Providing ongoing disaster relief support from Banfield Foundation, PEDIGREE Foundation and VCA Charities.

Hosting its Biggest Adoption Event Ever in 6 U.S. Cities

To further encourage pet advocates to "volunteer their homes," Mars Petcare is expanding its 14^th annual BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ Adoption Weekend this year, making it the company's biggest adoption event yet. Mars Petcare, PEDIGREE Foundation, VCA Charities and Camp Bow Wow will cover adoption fees for dogs and cats, up to $110,000, in six of Mars' hometown cities across the U.S. starting Friday, October 21 through Sunday, October 23:

Denver, CO (home of Camp Bow Wow)
Los Angeles, CA (home of VCA Animal Hospitals)
Nashville, TN (home of Mars Pet Nutrition North America)
Newark, NJ (home of Mars Wrigley North America)
Vancouver, WA (home of Banfield Pet Hospital)
Washington, D.C. (home of Mars Inc. Global Headquarters)

Each adopted pet will go home with a robust starter kit including products like: PEDIGREE® dog food, IAMS™ cat food, ROYAL CANIN® cat food, DENTASTIX™ dog treats, TEMPTATIONS™ cat treats, a free first office visit coupon from Banfield Pet Hospital®, along with coupons and swag from Camp Bow Wow®, VCA Animal Hospitals, WISDOM PANEL™ DNA Test, PEDIGREE Foundation and the BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program. Each adopted dog will also go home with a WHISTLE™ health tracking device with a free 12-month subscription. WHISTLE™ smart devices use industry-leading AI to translate a dog's behavior into in-depth health insights.

To learn more about how to answer the call through acts of service and volunteering, supporters can visit BetterCitiesforPets.com/ServiceHumans. For more details about Adoption Weekend, please visit BetterCitiesForPets.com/Adopt2022.

ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a global, family-owned business, Mars is transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality confectionery, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 140,000+ dedicated Associates. With almost $45 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world's best-loved brands including Ben's Original™, CESAR®, Cocoavia®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, KIND®, M&M's®, SNICKERS®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®. We are creating a better world for pets through our global network of pet hospitals and diagnostic services – including AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus and VCA™ – using cutting edge technology to develop breakthrough programs in genetic health screening and DNA testing. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About Mars Petcare
Part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love, the 85,000 Associates across 50+ countries in Mars Petcare are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. With 85 years of experience, our portfolio of almost 50 brands serves the health and nutrition needs of the world's pets – including brands PEDIGREE^®, WHISKAS^®, ROYAL CANIN^®, NUTRO™, GREENIES™, SHEBA^®, CESAR^®,
IAMS™ and EUKANUBA™ as well as the Waltham Petcare Science Institute which has advanced research in the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years. Mars Petcare is also a leading veterinary health provider through an international network of over 2,000 pet hospitals and diagnostic services including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™, Linnaeus,
AniCura and Antech. We're also active in innovation and technology for pets, with WISDOM PANEL™ genetic health screening and DNA testing for dogs and cats, the WHISTLE™ GPS dog tracker, and LEAP VENTURE STUDIO accelerator and COMPANION FUND programs that drive innovation and disruption in the pet care industry. We're also dedicated to providing a safe and fun place for dogs to stay and socialize at over 200 Camp Bow Wow^® doggy day care and boarding facilities. As a family business and guided by our principles, we are privileged with the flexibility to fight for what we believe in – and we choose to fight for: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.