NEWS RELEASE (EVENT)
For Immediate release 11/13/2020
Happily Ever After No Kill Adoption Center
2255 Fox Heights Lane
Green Bay, WI 54304
(920) 634-9701
Happily Ever After No Kill Shelter to hold fundraising calendar event celebrating the end of the year, named “Tired of 2020”. This event to feature photo submissions of sleeping cats and dogs that are voted on. The top 12 favorite pets will be featured in a 2021 calendar. Each submission is voted on by donating $1 per vote, donators can vote multiple times. Submissions for the opportunity to be in the calendar are $5 each with a photo. The submissions are pictures of either sleeping cats or dogs. Voting and photo submissions are accepted until Sunday, November 15th, at 8:00 p.m. CST. The event is focused on fundraising money for HEA to maintain their facilities for normal operation.
“This event is still in the planning phases, but the theme goes along with the name of the event, how we're all tired of 2020” Said Jess Danen, a Community Outreach Specialist at HEA. “It has been a crazy year for everyone, and we want to find a lighthearted way to express that while we look forward to a new year that will, hopefully, be much different than this year!” Danen added.
Merchandise for the Tired of 2020 event is available for purchase on the tiredof2020.org website. The tired of 2020 online store has various items for purchase, including “pre-order[s for] your commemorative shirts, lounge pants, socks, relaxation kits, and more!” Preorders are available until Sunday, November 15th, 2020 until 8:00 p.m. CST. Items will be shipped in December.
The event focuses on the celebration of the end of 2020 and several accomplishments that HEA has achieved throughout the year. They have seen an impressive 40% growth in adoption rates while also adopting more than 500 adoptions in a year for the first time in the organization’s entire history. A total of 550 cats and dogs have been adopted, and HEA anticipates seeing many more adoptions before December.
“Happily Ever After No Kill encourages individuals interested in participating in the event to submit their photos soon as the event ends on November 15th” said Danen. If interested in participating in the Tired of 2020 event or learning more about the organization, visit tiredof2020.org for more information.
About HEA:
Happily Ever After is a non-profit organization specializing in saving dogs and cats from kill shelters. Currently, they are at 90% no kill and have a goal of being 100%. In 2006, their founder was a 21-year-old college student that learned 50% of cats and dogs entering shelters lost their lives. Amanda Reitz set out to save them, one by one. She had visions of a refuge for dogs and cats in need of a safe and loving home. Her dream became a reality when she found the first rescue dog, wandering the woods of Northern Wisconsin, later named Walter. Founded in her family garage, the Reitz family was committed to making companion animal welfare part of their life’s work.
BACKGROUNDER (EVENT & ORG)
Happily Ever After No Kill Shelter and Sanctuary – heanokill.org
Happily Ever After is devoted to saving the life of every animal, meaning that every single one matters to them.
The focus of HEA is to provide a positive impact in every interaction with their animals. This impact will change lives in a positive way and maintain interactions within their facilities. HEA was created by Amanda Reitz when she was 21 years old after finding out 50% of shelter animals lose their lives and devoted herself to saving all the animals that come into her shelter. These values are upheld today in HEA’s facilities including their shelter, sanctuary, and cottage. The cottage allows interested people to visit with the animals at the shelter in an overnight setting, while the shelter provides adoption and fostering. The sanctuary is devoted to animals who are not able to be adopted out, fostered, or able to be placed in normal homes for various reasons.
HEA is devoted to their 5 pillars of work: adoption, education, spaying/neutering, rehabilitation, and sanctuary.
HEA’s pillar of adoption focuses on adopting out pets to families and providing resources for their pets. The pillar of education for HEA means they devote themselves to learning and sharing the information they gather and distributing it in a manner that makes sense. HEA’s pillar of spaying/neutering provides these services for every pet they intake as well as providing low-cost to families who may not afford it – although they have suspended these services since the COVID-19 pandemic. The pillar of rehabilitation provides a promise to the animals that HEA will never give up on them and always try to ease the previous trauma the animal may have encountered. The last pillar, sanctuary, promises every animal a loving home, whether they are fostered, adopted, or living in their sanctuary for the remainder of their lives. They hope to inspire other shelters to focus their efforts on saving every life in a similar fashion.
Tired of 2020 – tiredof2020.org
HEA’s tired of 2020 event is focused on fundraising for their facilities.
The event consists of a photo contest incorporating user-submitted sleeping animals that have a chance to appear in a 2021 calendar through the contest. Submissions for the contest are $5 each. One of the other aspects of the event is voting for the submissions – each vote for those submissions is by donate-to-vote and is $1 each. Individuals can vote as many times as they wish. Submissions and voting end on November 15th, 2020 at 8:00PM CST. Another option is to “Reserve a Date” on the calendar and have a lightened image on a specific date in the calendar. The Reserve a Date also requires a donation for submission and does not enter that specific photo into the donate-to-vote contest. These submissions also end on the same day as the contest itself. Calendars from the Tired of 2020 event can be purchased for pre-order until November 27th, 2020 at 8:00PM CST. The event’s rules and information can be found at tiredof2020.org. HEA is devoted to saving the lives of animals who may not otherwise get a chance in other types of shelters. The money from the fundraising will be used to provide basic and advanced needs for the animals at the shelter.
FACT SHEET
Happily Ever After Animal Sanctuary
Their mission is to provide a loving home to every companion animal that enters our care.
Dogs and puppies are $350.
Single cats and kittens are $135.
HEA focuses on cats and dogs.
People can Foster, Adopt, Donate, Volunteer, or stay at their cottage overnight.
HEA currently has two locations
HEA’s Adoption center is in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
HEA’s Sanctuary is in Marion, Wisconsin.
HEA provides resources pertaining to rehoming pets, considerations before doing so.
HEA also provides resources for lost pets, including ones adopted from them.
HEA normally provides low-cost spay/neutering vouchers – Due to COVID-19, they have suspended this.
HEA carries out its mission by using five pillars – adoption, education, spaying/neutering, rehabilitation, and sanctuary.
Tired of 2020 Event
Photo contest for the calendar.
The audience submits photos for the calendar.
Photos for the contest can be submitted until Nov. 15th at 8:00 p.m.
$5 for each submission to the contest.
$1 for each vote towards a photo.
Votes can be cast multiple times but will cost $1 per vote.
Cats and dogs are welcome to participate even if not adopted from HEA.
Calendars are available for pre-order until Nov. 27th at 8:00 p.m.
Rules and information are available on tiredof2020.org.
Merchandise is available for pre-order at tiredof2020.org until November 15th, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
The merchandise available includes sweatshirts, t-shirts, blankets, pet shirts, socks, among other types of merch.
Items ordered now will ship in December.
TIP SHEET
People interested in this event and organization are animal lovers. Typically, a wide range of ages, including young adults, families, and middle-aged people.
This last event of 2020 is important to participate in because it will provide more funds for the organization and grow interest in the organization as a whole. This event will prepare the community for 2021 and HEA’s plans for the next year.
This contest and merchandise will raise awareness for companion animals.
HEA focuses on the well-being of their cats and dogs in their shelters and sanctuaries
HEA aims to seek to understand by engaging individuals in their work
HEA sees what could be if animals are treated in a positive manner
HEA seeks to raise the bar on current standards of animal shelters and sanctuaries
Overall, HEA aims to change the lives of these animals by providing a chance for all animals
BIOGRAPHY
Happily Ever After is a non-profit organization specializing in saving dogs and cats from kill shelters. Currently, they are at 90% no-kill and have a goal of being 100%. In 2006, they were founded by a 21-year-old college student that learned 50% of cats and dogs entering shelters lost their lives. The college student, Amanda Reitz, set out to save them, one by one. She had visions of refuge for dogs and cats in need of a safe and loving home. Her dream became a reality when she found the first rescue dog, wandering the woods of Northern Wisconsin, later named Walter. Founded in her family garage, the Reitz family was committed to making companion animal welfare part of their life’s work.