With fundraising events and galas postponed, COVID-19 has left many animal rescue organizations struggling to find new ways to keep their doors open and continue their work.
Heartwood Haven, a registered 501c3 nonprofit located just outside of Seattle, WA, operates a vital pet food bank for their community in need. They have rescued over 500 animals, and successfully adopted out 300 of those to loving forever homes. The animals that aren’t able to be adopted live out their lives at the rescue.
The sanctuary was forced to delay its vital fundraising gala “Hearts and Hooves” scheduled for August. Instead, they found inspiration in another large scale event that had to be postponed: the summer Olympics.
The online photo contest encourages participants to capture their pet’s athleticism or invent a whole new event their pet particularly excels at. Napping is a sport, right?
Kate Tsyrklevich, who founded Heartwood Haven in 2017 with her partner Hope Hilman, says: “We thought people are home with their pets, and they could use a fun distraction. Not to mention, we’ve got some really amazing prizes donated by our sponsors.”
The Gold Medal winner earns a one week stay at The Imperial Resort in Waikiki, located in Oahu, in a 2 bd/2 ba suite with a view of Diamond Head. The Silver Medal winner takes home a Microsoft Surface Go 2 Bundle, and Microsoft Surface Headphones 2. Bronze Medal winner scores a $150 cash prize. The photo contest runs through July 31st, go to gogophotocontest.com/olympets for more details and to enter.
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