One Million Dollar Grant Awarded To WeCARE, An Alliance Of South Bay Animal Shelters

Maddie's Fund Lifesaving Award Recognizes WeCARE's Mission of Saving Animals' Lives

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WeCARE (www.wecareproject.org), an alliance of six public and private animal shelters in the South Bay, has received the one million dollar Maddie's Fund (www.maddiesfund.org) Lifesaving Award. The WeCARE alliance was formed to save animals' lives in Santa Clara County, to provide an adoption guarantee for 100% of the healthy animals in the community, and to help animals with treatable conditions. The award, given by Maddie's Fund®, a family foundation based in Alameda, recognizes the contributions of community partnerships that have successfully saved the lives of all healthy, homeless pets for at least two years and that are likely to sustain an adoption guarantee into the future.

WeCARE began with the Humane Society Silicon Valley (www.hssv.org) and the City of San Jose Animal Care and Services collaborating to rescue animals at risk for euthanasia due to medical and behavioral issues, or overcrowding.  This alliance saved more than 2,000 animals.  Building on this success, the collaboration evolved to include the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter, Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority, City of Palo Alto Animal Services and Town Cats.  In 2011, WeCARE had a 100 percent save rate for healthy, adoptable animals.   "WeCARE is about more than aligning six shelters," said John Cicirelli, Director of San Jose Animal and Care Services.  "It's about creating a community that cares for animals."

"We are very grateful to Maddie's Fund for the generous support and recognition that this prestigious award provides," said Beth Ward, COO, Humane Society Silicon Valley. "These resources will help WeCARE continue its successes to save all healthy and treatable animals.  It will also give us the flexibility to implement new programs to help rehabilitate physically or mentally ill animals to get them healthy so that they too can be adopted by a loving family."

"Maddie's Fund is proud and thrilled to give a gift of one million dollars to the WeCARE alliance in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments in saving all of Santa Clara County's healthy shelter pets for the past two years," said Maddie's Fund President, Rich Avanzino.

The first step WeCARE is taking to utilize the resources is to launch a new website to make it fast and easy for pet owners to be reunited with lost pets.  At www.wecareproject.org, WeCARE alliance members maintain up-to-the minute listings of lost and found pets.  Users can easily search by type of pet or city to peruse a listing of photos to find their lost animal. 

About WeCARE
The WeCARE alliance includes Humane Society Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County Animal Shelter, Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority, City of Palo Alto Animal Services and Town Cats.  To find out more about WeCARE and its members, logon to www.wecareproject.org, or telephone your nearest WeCARE agency. 

About Maddie's Fund
Maddie's Fund^® (www.maddiesfund.org) is a family foundation which is funded by the founder of Workday and PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield and his wife, Cheryl. Maddie's Fund is helping to create a no-kill nation where all healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats are guaranteed a loving home. To achieve this goal, Maddie's Fund is investing its resources in building community collaborations where animal welfare organizations come together to develop successful models of lifesaving; in veterinary colleges to help shelter medicine become part of the veterinary curriculum to train veterinarians to save the lives of sick and injured dogs and cats in animal shelters; and in the implementation of a national effort to promote accountability and transparency in animal shelter operations. Maddie's Fund is named after the family's beloved Miniature Schnauzer who passed away in 1997.

CONTACT:
Jennifer Simonsen
Public Relations for Humane Society Silicon Valley
415-706-1530; [email protected] 

SOURCE Humane Society Silicon Valley

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