ASPCA campaign aims at creating nation of 'humane communities'

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The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is partnering with animal welfare organizations in select cities as part of ASPCA Mission: Orange, an initiative launched in January to create a country of "humane communities."

The ASPCA and its partners will identify the needs of each target city and implement programs that will bring about change for the animals in these communities, especially shelter animals.

Programs may include financial assistance and grants, strategic planning, community grassroots activities, humane education, and a variety of training opportunities. Cities chosen for the initial phase of the campaign are Austin, Texas; Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss.; Philadelphia; and Tampa, Fla.

The ASPCA has made a three-year commitment to each of the communities it will partner with in the 2007 phase of ASPCA Mission: Orange. This year, the organization will invest up to $200,000 in each community for capacity-building and animal welfare efforts.

As work in these cities progresses and they move toward a sustainable model, the ASPCA will begin assessing other communities in 2008 and beyond.

"In the more than 30 years that I have been involved in animal welfare, I have seen, time and time again, that we, as an industry, are most effective in saving animals when we put our differences aside and pool our strengths to achieve what is, after all, a shared goal—the elevation and continued welfare of animals in our society," said ASPCA President and CEO Ed Sayres.

"This is the driving force behind ASPCA Mission: Orange—the desire to bring about immediate, measurable, and sustainable change for the animals we are honor-bound to protect and provide for."