Our Impact
Pets are family. That's the feeling we share with like-minded organizations all across America. These hard-working non-profits applied for grants and were awarded funding for their innovative 2009 programs. And in every case, pets and their families benefit in the communities where these programs thrive.
2009 Grant Awards
In 2009, the Banfield Charitable Trust awarded nearly $400,000 in grants to non-profit organizations whose passion for pets and families is reflected in the good works they do. Here is a list of many of the organizations that received funding.
Ahimsa House - Atlanta, GA
Grant Award: $5,000
Project: The Emergency Animal Safehouse Services is a program that helps the pets of people in domestic violence situations. Ahimsa House offers emergency shelter and veterinary care for pets, and reunites them with families once everyone is safe. BCT funded this program to help keep families and pets together, and allows Ahimsa House to raise greater awareness for their services throughout the state of Georgia.
[visit web site]
Albany Damien Center - Albany, NY
Grant Award: $5,000
Project: The Albany Damien Center is dedicated to improving the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. And when the quality of patients' lives includes pets, the organization operates a pet wellness clinic that offers preventive healthcare for the companion animals of patients. By offering pet health services which reduce the financial burden for those in their community, the Albany Damien Center exemplifies Banfield Charitable Trust's ideology of keeping owners and their furry families together. [visit web site]
Argus Institute - Ft. Collins, CO
Grant Award: $2,100
Project: As part of their veterinary school curriculum, the Argus Institute at Colorado State University offers a Clinical Communication Skills laboratory for their students. This is a unique college program which simulates client interviews so students can practice their clinical interviewing skills and watch their performance on DVD. The laboratory experience strengthens communication between future pet care professionals and the owner, effectively improving the proper treatment for pets. [visit web site]
Arizona Animal Welfare League - Phoenix, AZ
Grant Award: $2,500
Project: Vet Camp is a hands-on experience for 12 to 14 year-olds, designed to offer learning opportunities for middle school children with an interest in veterinary medicine. This summer camp introduces the children to the science of pet medicine and the studies required to succeed as a veterinarian. Campers choose the type pet in which they are interested and learn the behavioral care, training methods and preventive health care the pets need. The BCT grant helps Vet Camp promote care, protection and humane values between pets and people. [visit web site]
ASPCA - New York, NY
Grant Award: $1,000
Project: The ASPCA Pet Therapy Program allows individuals to register their dogs and cats as therapy animals. These pets and their handlers visit hospitals, nursing homes, classrooms and libraries, fostering a healthy interaction between people and pets. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in conjunction with the Delta Society trains and registers dogs and cats and helps place them in facilities throughout the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. [visit web site]
Assistance Dogs of America, Inc. (ADAI) - Swanton, OH
Grant Award: $7,500
Project: The Prison Puppy Program is the first step in the process ADAI uses in training service dogs. Puppies live the first year of their lives with inmates at the Toledo Correctional Institute, which helps the inmates gain a sense of accomplishment. Trainers meet with ADAI staff every a week for structured classes, and the puppies are continually assessed for their well-being and progress. [visit web site]
Austin Pets Alive! - Austin, TX
Grant Award: $10,000
Project: Positive Alternatives to Shelter Surrender (PASS) is a community hotline service in Austin. It allows people to email or telephone and discuss problems that might lead to a dog or cat being sent to the city's animal shelter. PASS can then address the issues with pet owners, arrange for subsidized pet healthcare or training classes, and keep the pets in their homes. [visit web site]
Caine Halter Family YMCA - Greenville, SC
Grant Award: $3,500
Project: Dog training and owner education are at the heart of Strong Families & Pets program at the Greenfield, South Carolina YMCA. The program allows all family members to take an active role in bringing a pet into their home. Parents, children and their dogs attend hands-on classes with emphasis on preventive care, humane treatment and the relationship with the dog in the family. [visit web site]
Canine Partners for Life - Cochranville, PA
Grant Award: $9,000
Project: The Prison Puppy Raising Program screens and qualifies inmates at five state correctional facilities to raise and train puppies during the first year of the pets' life. This grant helps with the cost of food, equipment and supplies for the 21 puppies in the program. Inmates are taught proper techniques of training and caring for dogs, while learning character-building skills and responsibilities. [visit web site]
Carolina Canines for Service (CCFS) - Wilmington, NC
Grant Award: $10,000
Project: The Carolina Canines for Veterans program provides wounded soldiers with trained service dogs that can retrieve and carry objects, pull wheelchairs, push elevator buttons and more. Even the actual training of dogs benefits the military. CCFS uses military prisoners at the Camp Lejeune brig in Jacksonville, N.C. to teach service dogs the skills needed to serve wounded veterans. This is another great example of an organization using the interaction of pets and people to improve lives. [visit web site]
Citizens' Pet Responsibility Committee of Moore County - Whispering Pines, NC
Grant Award: $7,500
Project: The Citizens' Pet Responsibility Committee of Moore County created and executes an education program for fourth grade students which teaches pet responsibility. It focuses on good pet healthcare and the importance of preventing pet overpopulation. [visit web site]
Coalition to Unchain Dogs - Durham, NC
Grant Award: $10,000
Project: The Coalition to Unchain Dogs builds fences for families in and around Durham, North Carolina. A fenced yard allows an outdoor dog to run around free rather than being chained. [visit web site]
Community Partnership for Pets - Flat Rock, NC
Grant Award: $7,500
Project: When low income families in the communities around Mt. Airy, NC need access to veterinary care, many turn to the Community Partnership for Pets. In addition to treating illnesses and injuries, preventive healthcare for pets is a vital aspect of the assistance they provide. [visit web site]
Freedom Service Dogs - Englewood, CO
Grant Award: $5,000
Project: Pawsitive Connection focuses on character development of at-risk youth, ages 11-18, with a program that allows them to work with service dogs in training. These children have lived in difficult environments and they are paired with dogs, participate in training sessions and take the dogs to visit long-term care facilities and local businesses. These responsibilities help bring out the youths' positive traits and demonstrate success in their young lives. Involvement with these dogs cultivates respect, empathy, patience, self-control and social skills in the individuals who train them. [visit web site]
Good Neighbor Center - Tigard, OR
Grant Award: $5,500
Project: Washington County Project Homeless Connect is a one-day event that furnishes veterinary care for pets of homeless people. While veterinarians and vet techs volunteer their time, the BCT grant helps purchase the supplies needed to treat dogs, cats and other small pets for homeless people in Washington County, Oregon. The Good Neighbor Center provides emergency housing and support services, including this event that offers preventive healthcare for pets. [visit web site]
Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio - Canton, OH
Grant Award: $4,500
Project: The SPEAK Program stands for Special Pups Enhancing the Abilities of Kids and it sends volunteers and their dogs to elementary schools. School children enhance their reading skills with these dogs who give a non-threatening audience for reading practice. The grant lets Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio expand the program to five elementary schools, providing more interplay between pets and children. [visit web site]
Haywood Animal Welfare Association (HAWA) - Waynesville, NC
Grant Award: $8,000
Project: It is well known the good work food pantries do in helping feed the hungry in their communities. HAWA makes sure that their local food pantries stock pet food for families in need. The local food banks HAWA serves distribute an average of 1,600 pounds of dog and cat food per week, making sure that pets in need are fed along with the families. [visit web site]
Humane Society of Pinellas - Clearwater, FL
Grant Award: $15,000
Project: The Safe House Program: Critters Helping Kids in Crisis wants to expand to three shelters this year, and the BCT is glad to help. Safe House shelters children 6 month to 11 years, who were taken from their abusive homes by the court system. Statistics show that 85% of these children had pets at home and many times it was the pet that was first abused. Unfortunately, battered children sometimes adopt the behavior of abusing pets, a cycle which Safe House wants to stop. The program changes behaviors through education on pet needs and by training children to care for cats and dogs. [visit web site]
Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta - Atlanta, GA
Grant Award: $10,000
Project: The Children's Museum of Atlanta offers popular Summer Camp programs, which lets children experience and learn about a wide variety of important and entertaining subjects. This grant provides support to features a session on caring for pets and the significance of veterinary medicine in the health of pets each camp session. [visit web site]
Inspiring Kids Academy - Decatur, GA
Grant Award: $1,000 in FutureVet Kits
Project: The We Love Our Pets project is part of a Summer Youth Program that educates elementary, middle and high school students. Students learn more about pets, responsible care and the role veterinary medicine plays in pet health. FutureVet Kits provide educational materials for the program offering an introduction to veterinary medicine with presentations appropriate for grade levels from Pre-K through High School.
[visit web site]
Junior Achievement of the Central Carolinas - Charlotte, NC
Grant Award: $5,000
Project: JA BizTown is a unique learning opportunity sponsored by Junior Achievement of the Central Carolinas. 4th- and 5th-graders learn about the free enterprise system through active participation in a simulated town. JA BizTown features a Pet Shop. Students that work in the Pet Shop hold the positions of Veterinarian, Veterinary Technician and Animal Care Specialist. [visit web site]
Lollypop Farm - Fairport, NY
Grant Award: $5,000
Project: Lollypop Farm's Pet Assisted Therapy Program now brings pets to visit over 6,000 residents of nursing homes, hospitals, children's centers and mental health facilities every year. Their mission is simple: make pets available to bring joy and pleasure to people through increased interaction and helping with rehabilitation or reading assistance. [visit web site]
Michigan State University - East Lansing, MI
Grant Award: $2,500
Project: The MSU Mobile Animal Clinic delivers veterinary care to communities where geography or economics make pet care unavailable or unaffordable. The mobile clinic promotes preventive healthcare for pets and educates the public about pet healthcare. The mobile clinic is staffed by students who gain valuable skills in caring for pets, and receive the opportunity to serve communities where veterinary care is needed.
[visit web site]
New Horizons Service Dogs, Inc. (NHSDI) - Orange City, FL
Grant Award: $12,500
Project: The Prison Pup Program is a collaborative venture between NHSDI and the Florida Department of Corrections. Inmates are assigned the responsibility of raising and training puppies as a first step in becoming service dogs. The training they receive and the pet they attend help increase the self-esteem, confidence and interpersonal skills of those who train the dogs. These skills will help inmates be more productive when released from prison, and give them the satisfaction of helping to raise a service dog that will join the family of a disabled person. [visit web site]
Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC) - Santa Monica, CA
Grant Award: $10,000
Project: K9 Connection brings the magic of dogs and kids together. At-risk teens, ages 14 to 18, train homeless shelter dogs in basic obedience and assist the dogs in developing the skills to become adoptable. This not only helps to find loving homes for hard-to-adopt dogs, the teens develop skills and take on responsibility which helps them succeed in life. [visit web site]
Osceola Council on Aging - Kissimmee, FL
Grant Award: $5,000
Project: Jimmy's Place is a special kind of animal shelter. It offers free, temporary housing for pets of seniors who are traveling out of town to visit family or are unable to take care of their pets in an emergency. This service gives an economical alternative and peace of mind for seniors who must leave their home and pet behind, especially in cases of hospitalization, disaster or family emergency. Jimmy's Place is a fine example of a program which strengthens the pet-human bond. [visit web site]
Paws and Think - Indianapolis, IN
Grant Award: $5,000
Project: Paws and Think has a number of programs that help at-risk youth work with dogs. The Pawsibilies program pairs academically- or behaviorally-challenged children with a dog that matches their temperament; The Pregnant Paws program allows single teen parents to practice appropriate parenting and communication skills with dogs; and Pawsitive Corrections puts dogs together with incarcerated juvenile defenders. Paws and Think also offers After-school Programs for the Indiana communities they serve, emphasizing education about humane treatment and proper pet healthcare. [visit web site]
PALS of Central Texas - San Marcos, TX
Grant Award: $3,000
Project: The goal of the Health Pets Vaccination Program is to provide rabies vaccinations for 1,000 dogs and 2,000 cats for rabies. The program is targeted to low income individuals and families. [visit web site]
Roanoke Valley SPCA - Roanoke, VA
Grant Award: $1,500
Project: The Humane Education program aides in the curriculum of elementary schools in Virginia's Roanoke Valley, teaching children about responsible pet ownership, pet safety and preventing animal abuse. One of the most valuable education materials this program distributes is KIND News, a monthly newspaper delivered to over 3,500 area students in 181 classrooms. Our funding helps continue distribution of the publication along with a partner program to further educate students about careers in veterinary medicine and pet healthcare. [visit web site]
Second Chance Center for Animals (SCCA) - Flagstaff, AZ
Grant Award: $5,000
Project: SCCA's mission is to care and arrange adoption for the homeless and unwanted dogs and cats in Flagstaff, Arizona. And in the case of local disasters, the organization needed a portable pet shelter that could be set up in the affected community. The BCT grant will help SCCA purchase a Pet Friendly Disaster Response Trailer and equipment to assist with local relief efforts and emergency pet services. [visit web site]
The Shade Tree - Las Vegas, NV
Grant Award: $10,000
Project: The Shade Tree is a shelter for homeless and abused women and is receiving funding for a program that benefits their clients' pets. Their onsite sanctuary, Noah's Animal House, provides pet care classes and access to routine exams, preventive care, and dental care for the pets. Thanks to this good work, many women can now get care for their pets and keep them safe and healthy during the transition toward independence. [visit web site]
Spaymart - Metairie, LA
Grant Award: $7,000
Project: Located in New Orleans, Spaymart was created after Hurricane Katrina in response to the large number of feral and stray cats. Spaymart's goal is to provide preventive healthcare and vaccinations for these cats which reduces the cost of adoption to loving homes in the community. [visit web site]
SPCA of Westchester - Briarcliff Manor, NY
Grant Award: $5,000
Project: The Golden Outreach Pet Therapy Program serves Westchester, Putnam and Bronx counties in New York, visiting healthcare facilities with SPCA-trained volunteers and pets. These cats and dogs help patients undergoing treatment and rehabilitation, or pay visits to those who are socially isolated or infirmed. This program exemplifies the positive aspects of the pet-human bond. [visit web site]
Teacher's Pet - Rochester Hills, MI
Grant Award: $10,000
Project: Teacher's Pet offers a program to help hard-to-adopt shelter dogs find loving homes. The organization's success comes with the skills they teach to at-risk or incarcerated youth, a 10-week intensive workshop on obedience training and responsible pet ownership. This grant will help cover the feeding, training, veterinary care and vaccinations the dogs need to be healthy for their future adopted families. [visit web site]
United Animal Nations - Sacramento, CA
Grant Award: $20,000
Project: The Emergency Animal Rescue Services (EARS) program offers free emergency shelter and disaster relief services for the communities served by United Animal Nations. In addition to providing pet care services during natural disasters and other crises, EARS also educates local communities to include pets in disaster planning. [visit web site]
See the recipients of grants we awarded in previous years | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
