December 21, 2017
In-Store Holiday Toy Drives Have Collected 2.3 Million Plush Toys Donated by PetSmart Shoppers for Local Charities; Philanthropic Holiday Collection Generates $1.3 Million Donation
PHOENIX – Dec. 21, 2017 – PetSmart and its loyal shoppers have succeeded in making the holidays a little brighter for millions of children, families, and pets across North America. Today the leading pet specialty retailer announced a record-breaking toy drive resulting in 2.3 million Chance, Lucky & Friends plush toys being collected and sales of its Holiday Philanthropic Collection, which gives back 10 percent of sales, generating $1.3 million for nonprofit partner PetSmart Charities to help pets in need.
“It’s the season of giving, and for all of us at PetSmart, that means it’s the time of year when our home offices, store associates and passionate shoppers join forces to help pets and people in need in the communities where we live and work,” said Joshua Kanter, PetSmart’s executive vice president of marketing and customer experience. “From buying items from our philanthropic collection, to donating plush toys to local causes, our shoppers have demonstrated they care deeply about enhancing the lives of people and pets in local communities across North America.”
The Chance, Lucky & Friends plush toy line features seven collectible characters that are perfect gifts for pets and people alike. The items retail for $5-9 each and are part of PetSmart’s Holiday Philanthropic Collection (https://www.petsmart.com/featured-shops/holiday/gifts-that-give-back/) – an exclusive line of products that donates 10 percent of sales to PetSmart Charities to help pets in need.
Since early October, the 1,600 PetSmart stores across the U.S. and Canada have invited customers to purchase the plush toys and donate them in an in-store toy drive supporting a local charity or organization selected by each store. Popular causes include children’s hospitals, youth clubs, senior residences and animal rescue shelters, as well as larger community toy drive initiatives organized by local police or fire departments. So far this year, 2.3 million plush toys have been collected across North America — a 63 percent increase over last year and the highest tally since PetSmart began this in-store toy drive in 2011. Stores will continue to collect the items through Dec. 24, while supplies last.
Below are the top 10 PetSmart store locations with the highest number of donated toys this year so far, as well as the beneficiary partners to which the toys have been or will be delivered.
PetSmart store on West Bell Road in Surprise, Ariz. – 5,696 toys for Arizona Cancer Foundation
PetSmart store on Brier Creek Parkway in Raleigh, N.C. – 4,861 toys for Raleigh Rescue Mission
PetSmart store on River Street in Santa Cruz, Calif. – 4,659 toys for Teddy Bears with Heart
PetSmart store on Broadway in Saugus, Mass. – 4,262 toys for Shriners Hospitals for Children-Boston
PetSmart store on Shops Parkway in Austin, Texas – 4,035 toys for Bee Cave Police Department
PetSmart store on South Veterans Parkway in Springfield, Ill. – 3,906 toys for Children’s Miracle Network-St. John’s Children’s Hospital
PetSmart store on North Burkhardt Road in Evansville, Ind. – 3,808 for 911 Gives Hope
PetSmart store on Bryant Irvin Road in Ft. Worth, Texas – 3,706 toys for North Texas Humane Society, Ft. Worth Animal Shelter, Toys for Tots, and Children’s Lighthouse
PetSmart store on North Lake Pleasant Parkway in Peoria, Ariz. – 3,699 toys forPeoria Police Department
PetSmart store on Causeway Boulevard in Brandon, Fla. – 3,605 toys forShriners Hospitals for Children-Tampa
In addition to the plush toys, the Holiday Philanthropic Collection also includes 12 cozy blankets perfect for keeping warm on chilly winter nights. Each holiday season, PetSmart donates 10 percent of sales from these products to its nonprofit partner PetSmart Charities. Last year, the Holiday Philanthropic line generated $585,000. This year to date, the program has more than doubled by generating $1.3 million in donations to support North America’s leading funder of animal welfare in its mission to end pet homelessness and keep people and pets together.
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About PetSmart®
PetSmart LLC is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we love pets, and we believe pets make us better people. Every day with every connection, PetSmart’s passionate associates help bring pet parents closer to their pets so they, together, can live more fulfilled lives. This vision impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates and how we give back to our communities. We employ approximately 55,000 associates, operate 1,600 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as more than 200 in-store PetSmart® PetsHotel® dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and products, as well as pet-focused services such as dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, PetSmart™ Doggie Day Camp™ and pet adoption. PetSmart, together with non-profits PetSmart Charities® and PetSmart Charities® of Canada, invite more than 3,500 animal welfare organizations to bring adoptable pets into stores so they have the best chance possible of finding a forever home. Through this in-store adoption program and other signature events, PetSmart has facilitated more than 7.6 million adoptions – more than any other brick-and-mortar organization. The company’s portfolio of digital resources for pet parents includes PetSmart.com, petMD.com, Pawculture.com, AllPaws, an online pet adoption platform that helps potential pet parents find the perfect pet to adopt based on their home, family and lifestyle, as well as BlogPaws, the world’s first pet blogger and influencer network. Through these digital platforms, PetSmart offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in the U.S. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, PetSmart launched its Buy a Bag, Give a Meal™ program in March 2017. For every bag of cat or dog food purchased March 1 – Dec. 31, 2017, PetSmart will donate a meal to pets in need and expects to donate more than 60 million meals in 2017*. In May 2017, PetSmart acquired Chewy.com, a leading online retailer of pet food and products in the U.S., which operates as an independent subsidiary.
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*Ends 12/31/17. 5 oz. dog food, 1.5 oz. cat food donated to PetSmart Charities to feed dogs and cats in need. See details at petsmart.com/giveameal. The actual number of meals donated is based on dog and cat food bags sold. The meal donation estimate is based on historic sales for similar time periods. No guaranteed amount. Rescue Bank and Feeding America will help distribute a large portion of the pet food donation in the U.S.
About PetSmart Charities®
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization with a mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In addition to finding homes for almost 500,000 shelter pets each year through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities provides funding to non-profits aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support: Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the pin pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar donated and has become the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, donating about $300 million to date. PetSmart Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization, has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, an independent organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 14 years in a row – placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org.
Follow PetSmart Charities on Twitter: @PetSmartChariTs
Find PetSmart Charities on Facebook: Facebook.com/PetSmartCharities
See PetSmart Charities on YouTube: YouTube.com/PetSmartCharitiesInc
About PetSmart Charities® of Canada:
PetSmart Charities of Canada is a registered Canadian charity with a mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In addition to finding homes for more than 25,000 shelter pets each year through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores, PetSmart Charities of Canada provides funding to registered charities aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support: Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities of Canada using the pin pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 89 cents of every dollar donated and has become a leading funder of animal welfare in Canada, donating nearly $12 million to date. PetSmart Charities of Canada is a member of Imagine Canada and is independent from PetSmart LLC To learn more, visit www.petsmartcharities.ca.
Contacts:
Virginia Hock
Golin for PetSmart
469-680-2611
[email protected]
PetSmart Charities 24-Hour Media Line: 623-587-2177
