Humane Society of Charlotte (N.C.) Tops Southeast Division after First Two Months of 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that for the second month in a row, Humane Society of Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C. is at the top of the Southeast Division of the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge.  The shelter has adopted or reunited 767 pets during the first two months of the three-month competition, an increase of 435 lives saved over the same period last year. Through October, 50 animal shelters from across the country are working to increase adoptions in order to win a piece of the more than $500,000 in ASPCA prize grants, including a grand prize of $100,000.

"Humane Society of Charlotte has come up with one creative adoption campaign after another," said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. "They even capitalized on the upcoming presidential election and its ties to the city of Charlotte by having $20.12 adoptions in early September. They're making adopting fun for the community , and it’s paid off with 767 adoptions in just 60 days and first place in their division for the second straight month."

In addition to Humane Society of Charlotte in Charlotte, contestants in the Southeast Region for the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge are:

• Central Brevard Humane Society in Cocoa, Fla.
• Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
• Flagler Humane Society in Palm Coast, Fla.
• Seminole County Animal Services in Sanford, Fla.
• Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Wellington, Fla.
• Oconee County Humane Society, Inc. in Seneca, S.C.
• Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
• Portsmouth Humane Society in Portsmouth, Va.

The contestants are working to save more cats and dogs during the months of August, September and October 2012 than they did during the same period in 2011. 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. A second place prize of $25,000 will be awarded to the shelter with the second greatest increase in lives saved, and 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 $5,000 and $40,000 in additional grants.

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 100 percent of the 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.

To find a contestant near you, please visit http://challenge.aspcapro.org/contestants. To see a complete list of events as they are scheduled, please stay tuned to http://challenge.aspcapro.org/events throughout the contest. The ASPCA also has joined the contestants and all of their supporters in tweeting with the unique hashtag #100KChallenge. The ASPCA encourages animal lovers to use #100KChallenge on Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word about adopting animals from shelters in the contest.

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 more information about the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, please visit www.aspca.org/100kchallenge.