Coastal Humane Society (Maine) Tops Division One after First Two Months of 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that Coastal Humane Society in Brunswick, Maine is again at the top of the leaderboard in Division One of the 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge. They found homes for 592 pets during the first 60 days of the three-month competition, an increase of 254 lives saved over the same period last year. Through August, 50 animal shelters from across the country will work to increase adoptions in order to win a piece of the more than $600,000 in ASPCA prize grants, including a grand prize of $100,000.

“Coastal Humane was truly working for the weekends, with major adoption events on their calendar every single weekend during the competition so far,” said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. “Their non-stop work ethic has put nearly 600 cats and dogs in loving homes in just two months, so they have nearly 600 reasons to be proud.”

In addition to Coastal Humane Society, contestants in Division One (those with an annual intake of 1,500-2,500 animals) for the 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge are:

• Angels of Assisi in Roanoke, Va.
• Burbank Animal Shelter in Burbank, Calif.
• City of Chico Animal Shelter in Chico, Calif.
• Humane Society Calumet Area in Munster, Ind.
• Humane Society of Delaware County in Delaware, Ohio
• Humane Society of Greater Dayton in Dayton, Ohio
• Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County in Memphis, Tenn.
• Lynchburg Humane Society in Lynchburg, Va.
• Pet Helpers in Charleston, S.C.

The 50 contestants are working to save more animals during the months of June, July and August 2014 than they did over the same three-month period in 2013. Last year's competing shelters saved more than 56,000 cats and dogs during the contest, an increase of 12,050 over the same period in 2012.

The ASPCA and Rachael Ray will award a $100,000 grand prize to the shelter contestant that achieves the greatest increase in lives saved during this three-month period. The contestant that does the best job of engaging its community members in helping to save more animals will win $25,000. Those organizations that do the best in their divisions will be eligible for between $10,000 and $25,000 in additional grants. In total, $600,000 in grant funding will be awarded for increases in animal lives saved, as well as a photo contest and general participation.

All her life, Rachael Ray has been an advocate for animals and a supporter of animal welfare groups. Her love for animals and for her pit bull, Isaboo, inspired her to create a pet food called Nutrish® to raise money for animals in need.  Ray donates her proceeds from the sale of Nutrish® to organizations like the ASPCA so they can implement programs like the $100K Challenge and support shelters and animal organizations around the country.

The ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge is a groundbreaking contest that challenges animal shelters across the country to come up with innovative ways to engage their communities and get more homeless cats and dogs into loving homes. For information about the 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, please visit www.aspca.org/100K.