108 Animal Shelters Vie for Slots in 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that 108 shelters spanning the nation have been selected to compete in the “Qualifying Heat” of the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge.  The contenders now must get their supporters to vote online from April 5-16, and the top 50 shelters will then go on to compete for more than $500,000 in prize grants, including a grand prize of $100,000.

“When we first introduced the Qualifying Heat vote into the $100K Challenge last year, we were amazed by how much energy and passion it injected into the contest,” said Bert Troughton, vice president of community outreach for the ASPCA. “More than 500,000 votes were cast by the public in just 12 days, which showed local shelters that their supporters really care about the animals in their community and wanted to help them save more lives. We’ve now come to regard the vote as a crucial step in the contest, helping the contestants attract and lock in the foundation of support they’ll need to carry them through the challenging contest period ahead.”

Fans and supporters can vote for their favorite shelter daily in the Qualifying Heat vote, from 12 noon ET on Thursday, April 5 until 12 midnight ET on Monday, April 16. The top five vote-getting shelters in each division will automatically earn spots making up 25 of the 50 contestants; the remaining shelters with the most votes will earn the other 25 slots. To vote, please visit www.votetosavelives.org.

Once the 50 competing shelters are selected, they will set about to save at least 300 more cats and dogs during the months of August, September and October 2012 than they did during the same period last year. 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.

The 108 shelters in the qualifying heat of the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge are:

• Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA in Phoenix, Ariz.
• HALO Animal Rescue in Phoenix, Ariz.
• Humane Society of Southern Arizona in Tucson, Ariz.
• Apple Valley Animal Services            in Apple Valley, Calif.
• Bakersfield SPCA in Bakersfield, Calif.
• Kern County Animal Control in Bakersfield, Calif.
• Animal Outreach of the Mother Lode in Diamond Springs, Calif.
• Escondido Humane Society in Escondido, Calif.
• Marin Humane Society in Novato, Calif.
• Animal Friends Rescue Project in Pacific Grove, Calif.
• County of San Bernardino Animal Care & Control in San Bernardino, Calif.
• Woods Humane Society in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
• Animal Friends of the Valleys in Wildomar, Calif.
• Longmont Humane Society in Longmont, Colo.
• Central Brevard Humane Society in Cocoa, Fla.
• Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
• The Humane Society Naples in Naples, Fla.
• Animal Aid, Inc in Oakland Park, Fla.
• Flagler Humane Society in Palm Coast, Fla.
• Pet Rescue by Judy in Sanford, Fla.
• Seminole County Animal Services in Sanford, Fla.
• Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Wellington, Fla.
• Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm Beach            , Fla.
• Cherokee County Animal Shelter in Canton, Ga.
• Carroll County (Ga.) Animal Shelter in Carrollton, Ga.
• Georgia Canine Rescue and Rehabilitation in Cochran, Ga.
• PAWS Humane in Columbus, Ga.
• Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter in Tiger, Ga.
• Guam Animals in Need in Yigo, Guam
• Canyon County Animal Shelter in Caldwell, Idaho
• South Suburban Humane Society, Chicago Heights, Ill.
• Macon County Animal Control & Care Center in Decatur, Ill.
• Winnebago County Animal Services in Rockford, Ill.
• City of Bloomington Animal Care and Control in Bloomington, Ind.
• Vanderburgh Humane Society in Evansville, Ind.
• Almost Home Humane Society in Lafayette, Ind.
• Humane Society of St. Joe County in Mishawaka, Ind.
• Humane Society Calumet Area in Munster, Ind.
• Heartland SPCA in Merriam, Kan.
• Bowling Green/Warren County Humane Society in Bowling Green, Ky.
• Louisville Metro Animal Services in Louisville, Ky.
• Pulaski County Humane Society in Somerset, Ky.
• Louisiana SPCA in New Orleans, La.
• Bangor Humane Society in Bangor, Maine
• The SPCA of Anne Arundel County in Annapolis, Md.
• BARCS in Baltimore, Md.
• Talbot Humane in Easton, Md.
• Montgomery County Humane Society in Rockville, Md.
• Last Chance Animal Rescue in Waldorf, Md.
• Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter in Dearborn, Mich.
• Kent County Animal Shelter in Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Capital Area Humane Society in Lansing, Mich.
• Joplin Humane Society in Joplin, Mo.
• Wayside Waifs in Kansas City, Mo.
• Nevada Humane Society, Reno, Nev.
• Watauga Humane Society in Boone, N.C.
• The Humane Society of Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C.
• Paws and Claws in Polkton, N.C.
• The Haven - Friends for Life in Raeford, N.C.
• Eleventh Hour Rescue in Randolph, N.J.
• McKinley County Humane Society in Gallup, N.M.
• Animal Services of the Mesilla Valley in Las Cruces, N.M.
• Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society in Santa Fe, N.M.
• Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation in Hampton Bays  , N.Y.
• CNYSPCA in Syracuse. N.Y.
• Ashtabula County Animal Protective League in Ashtabula, Ohio
• Humane Society of Greater Dayton in Dayton, Ohio
• Animal Friends Humane Society in Hamilton, Ohio
• SICSA in Kettering, Ohio
• Ohio Pet Placement in Lorain, Ohio
• Medina County SPCA            in Medina, Ohio
• Toledo Area Humane Society in Maumee, Ohio
• Sierra's Haven for New and Used Pets in Portsmouth, Ohio
• Tulsa Animal Welfare in Tulsa, Okla.
• Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene, Ore.
• The Center for Animal Health & Welfare in Easton, Pa.
• Washington Area Humane Society in Eighty Four, Pa.
• Humane League of Lancaster County in Lancaster, Pa.
• The Pennsylvania SPCA in Philadelphia, Pa.
• Animal Rescue League Shelter and Wildlife Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Animal Friends, Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Last Chance Ranch, Inc. in Quakertown, Pa.
• Heavenly Paws Animal Shelter, Inc. in Seven Valleys, Pa.
• White Oak Animal Safe Haven in White Oak, Pa.
• Anderson County P.A.W.S. in Anderson, S.C.
• Beaufort County Animal Shelter in Beaufort, S.C.
• Horry County Animal Care Center in Conway, S.C.
• Oconee County Humane Society, Inc. in Seneca, S.C.
• SBK Animal Center in Blountville, Tenn.
• Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley in Knoxville, Tenn.
• Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
• Beaumont Animal Services in Beaumont, Texas
• Denton Animal Shelter Foundation in Denton, Texas
• Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter in Georgetown, Texas
• BARC Animal Shelter & Adoptions in Houston, Texas
• Houston Humane Society in Houston, Texas
• North Richland Hills Animal Adoption & Rescue Center in North Richland Hills, Texas
• City of San Antonio Animal Care Services in San Antonio, Texas
• Humane Society of St. Thomas in St Thomas, U.S.V.I.
• Salt Lake County Animal Services, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Peninsula SPCA in Newport News, Va.
• Portsmouth Humane Society in Portsmouth, Va.
• Virginia Beach SPCA in Virginia Beach, Va.
• Heritage Humane Society in Williamsburg, Va.
• Humane Society of Central Washington in Yakima, Wash.
• Bay Area Humane Society in Green Bay, Wis.
• Greenbrier Humane Society in Lewisburg, W.V.
• Cheyenne Animal Shelter in Cheyenne, Wyo.

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.