Is Your Local Animal Shelter One of the 50? Contestants Revealed in 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today revealed the 50 contestants in the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, which were selected after 12 days of online voting by their supporters and more than 600,000 votes cast. These 50 contenders now will gear up for a three-month competition for more than $500,000 in prize grants, including a grand prize of $100,000.

Fans and supporters voted for their favorite shelter in the “Qualifying Heat” vote from April 5-16. Out of the 108 shelters in the last round, the top five vote-getting shelters in each division automatically earned spots making up 25 of the 50 contestants; the remaining shelters with the most votes nationally earned the other 25 slots.

The contestants’ next goal is 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 50 shelters competing in the 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge are:

In the West Division:

• 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.
• San Bernardino County Animal Care & Control in San Bernardino, Calif.
• Animal Friends of the Valleys in Wildomar, Calif.
• Canyon County Animal Shelter in Caldwell, Idaho
• Nevada Humane Society, Reno, Nev.
• Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene, Ore.
• Humane Society of Central Washington in Yakima, Wash.

In the Northeast Division:

• Bangor Humane Society in Bangor, Maine
• Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) in Baltimore, Md.
• Talbot Humane in Easton, Md.
• Montgomery County Humane Society in Rockville, Md.
• Eleventh Hour Rescue in Randolph, N.J.
• Humane League of Lancaster County in Lancaster, Pa.
• The Pennsylvania SPCA in Philadelphia, Pa.
• Animal Friends, Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Animal Rescue League Shelter and Wildlife Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Last Chance Ranch, Inc. in Quakertown, Pa.

In the Southeast Division:

• Central Brevard Humane Society in Cocoa, Fla.
• Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
• Flagler Humane Society in Palm Coast, Fla.
• Seminole County Animal Services in Sanford, Fla.
• Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Wellington, Fla.
• The Humane Society of Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C.
• Oconee County Humane Society, Inc. in Seneca, S.C.
• Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
• Portsmouth Humane Society in Portsmouth, Va.

In the South Central Division:

• Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA in Phoenix, Ariz.
• HALO Animal Rescue in Phoenix, Ariz.
• Humane Society of Southern Arizona in Tucson, Ariz.
• Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society in Santa Fe, N.M.
• Tulsa Animal Welfare in Tulsa, Okla.
• Beaumont Animal Services in Beaumont, Texas
• Denton Animal Shelter Foundation in Denton, Texas
• BARC Animal Shelter & Adoptions in Houston, Texas
• City of San Antonio Animal Care Services in San Antonio, Texas

In the North Central Division:

• Winnebago County Animal Services in Rockford, Ill.
• City of Bloomington Animal Care and Control in Bloomington, Ind.
• Heartland SPCA in Merriam, Kan.
• Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter in Dearborn, Mich.
• Kent County Animal Shelter in Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Bay Area Humane Society in Green Bay, Wis.
• Ashtabula County Animal Protective League in Ashtabula, Ohio
• Humane Society of Greater Dayton in Dayton, Ohio
• SICSA in Kettering, Ohio
• Toledo Area Humane Society in Maumee, Ohio
• Medina County SPCA in Medina, Ohio

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.