NBC & Telemundo Stations’ 9th Annual Nationwide Pet Adoption & Donation Initiative Raises More Than $575,000 for Participating Shelters
Fundraising Effort Extended Through Month to Celebrate More Than a Million Pets Finding New Homes Since Campaign’s 2015 Inception
NEW YORK – (Sept. 13, 2023) – NBCUniversal Local’s Clear The Shelters nationwide pet adoption and donation initiative has now resulted in more than one million adoptions since its 2015 inception as more than 157,000 pets found new homes during the 2023 campaign Aug. 1 to 31. The announcement was made today in collaboration with Clear The Shelters partners Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Greater Good Charities and WeRescue.
In addition, more than $575,000 has been donated to participating animal shelters and rescues as part of this year’s Clear The Shelters fundraising effort, which has been extended in recognition of reaching the one million all-time adoption milestone. Donations can be made through Sept. 30 at ClearTheSheltersFund.org.
“It’s been an immense privilege to witness the growth of Clear The Shelters from a local initiative led by our stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, NBC 5 and Telemundo 39, to a nationwide cause that has helped a million pets find new homes,” said NBCUniversal Local Chairman Valari Staab. “This campaign’s driving force has always been the employees, partners, stations and sponsors who generously contribute time, effort and resources each year. We thank them and all those who’ve adopted and donated over the last nine years.”
As part of the 2023 Clear The Shelters campaign, 152 NBC and Telemundo owned and affiliated stations partnered with more than 1,400 shelters to promote pet adoption and raise funds to benefit animal welfare. This year’s participating shelters represented 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.
“This remarkable milestone helps quantify Clear The Shelters’ impact over its nine campaigns, but also illustrates the number of pets in need and the challenges facing animal shelters and rescues in our communities year-round,” said Meredith McGinn, NBCUniversal Local’s EVP of Diginets & Original Production and Clear The Shelters leader. “We are very proud this community-driven initiative continues to grow and succeed in helping pets and the wonderful shelters and people who care for them.”
2023 Partners & Features –
The 2023 Clear The Shelters campaign featured online donations through partner Greater Good Charities, a global nonprofit and longtime campaign partner, which hosted the fundraising campaign, built courtesy of Fundraise Up, an online donation platform that helps nonprofits grow revenue. Donors have the option to cover transaction fees so that 100 percent goes directly to the shelter of their choice.
Virtual pet adoptions also returned for a fifth consecutive campaign through WeRescue. Through the Clear The Shelters tab on the WeRescue app, users were able to browse adoptable pets in their area by breed, gender, size, and other factors, submit their adoption applications and ask questions directly to shelters.
Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a global leader in science-based pet nutrition, was lead national sponsor for the sixth consecutive Clear The Shelters. As part of the campaign, Hill’s Pet Nutrition provided adoption kits to help new pet parents and their pets get a healthy start on their new life together. Kits containing starter bags of Hill’s science-led nutrition, coupons, pet-parenting tips, and other supplies were available at select shelters.
2023 Highlights –
Award-winning 16-year-old entrepreneur, philanthropist and shelter pet advocate Sir Darius Brown served as the 2023 Clear The Shelters ambassador and as shelter advocate for Hill’s Pet Nutrition. As part of his role, the founder and C.E.O. of Beaux & Paws, a pet accessories and lifestyle brand, designed a special Clear The Shelters edition of his signature pet bow ties, which were sold at Beaux & Paws and The Shop at NBC Studios.
TODAY co-hosts Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones led the Clear The Shelters special presented on NBC stations, COZI TV and NBC owned stations’ local news streaming channels, which began Aug. 4. The 30-minute show highlighted people dedicated to helping homeless pets and, through The Dodo – the leading animal and pet brand serving and longtime campaign media partner – stories of fostering and adoption.
The Desocupar Los Albergues special was presented on Telemundo stations and regional news streaming channels starting Aug. 5. The 30-minute show, which was led by Elva Saray of Acesso Total and Andrea Meza, host of Hoy Dia and En Casa Con Telemundo, delivered Spanish-speaking audiences moving pet rescue and adoption stories, as well as advice for new pet owners and special content from The Dodo.
To celebrate the start of this year’s campaign, NBCUniversal Local, Greater Good Charities, Hill’s Pet Nutrition and The Animal Rescue Site partnered on a lifesaving pet airlift on Aug. 2 from Florida to New Jersey and New Hampshire. In total, 193 dogs and 76 cats were transported from overcrowded shelters in the Southeast to 16 shelters across the Northeast, where they were made available for adoption.
In support of Clear The Shelters, Greater Good Charities in partnership with The Animal Rescue Site delivered surprise grants and much-needed pet supplies to three randomly selected participating shelters. Homeward Trails Animal Rescue Adoption Center in Fairfax Station, Va., the San Diego Humane Society and the Pennsylvania SPCA in Philadelphia each received $10,000, along with blankets, bowls, toys and more.
The celebrate the more than one million adoption milestone, longtime Clear The Shelters supporters are making contributions to New York’s Bideawee animal shelter. Greater Good Charities and The Animal Rescue Site will present a $10,000 grant and Hill’s Pet Nutrition will provide 10,000 meals worth of pet food at an event today, Wednesday, Sept. 13, at Bideawee’s new location in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood.
In addition, during the campaign, Hill’s Pet Nutrition and The Animal Rescue Site provided matching donations to the Clear The Shelters Fund. In total, Hill’s Pet Nutrition ($50,000) and The Animal Rescue Site ($15,000) provided $65,000 in dollar-for-dollar matches over a five-week period.
Visit ClearTheShelters.com and the Spanish-language DesocuparlosAlbergues.com for more information, or follow Clear The Shelters on social media at:
- X: @ClearTheShelter
- Instagram: cleartheshelters
- Hashtags: #ClearTheShelters & #DesocuparLosAlbergues
About Clear The Shelters
Clear The Shelters™ / Desocupar Los Albergues® is an annual, nationwide pet adoption campaign that is spearheaded by NBCUniversal Local, a division of NBCUniversal. Every year, NBCUniversal Local’s NBC and Telemundo owned stations and affiliated stations partner with animal shelters and rescues in their communities to promote pet adoption and raise funds. NBCUniversal Local’s Clear The Shelters campaign was inspired by a 2014 North Texas pet adoption event hosted by NBC 5 / KXAS and Telemundo 39 / KXTX and dozens of area shelters that resulted in the most adopted pets in one day for North Texas. Since 2015, Clear The Shelters pet adoption campaign has resulted in more than one million pet adoptions. Visit ClearTheShelters.com and DesocuparLosAlbergues.com for more information.
About NBCUniversal Local
NBCUniversal Local is NBCUniversal’s local media division that delivers English and Spanish-speakers and bilingual audiences in 31 U.S. markets and Puerto Rico, the very best in local sports, news, weather, consumer and investigative reporting, and lifestyle entertainment across any platform and screen. NBCUniversal Local is comprised of three individual media groups including the NBC Owned Television Stations, the NBC Sports Regional Networks and the Telemundo Station Group. The division is also home to multicast networks COZI TV and TeleXitos, the regional cable news network NECN, as well as NBC Spot On, an advanced video advertising business designed for local/regional CTV and OTT advertisers and several in-house companies including production company LXTV, marketing and promotions company Skycastle, its out-of-home business NBC Everywhere, and the Arthouse, a graphics design group. With five regional sports networks and 43 NBC and Telemundo stations serving 38 percent of U.S. homes, NBCUniversal Local is the only network-owned local media division that is home to the largest bilingual local newsrooms within the country’s top 10 TV markets. NBCUniversal Local’s stations and networks serve diverse audiences and communities across linear, streaming, OTT, digital web, mobile and audio, and cable platforms and work together to keep local audiences informed anytime and anywhere. For more information, visit NBCUniversal.com.
MEDIA CONTACT
Brian Potter
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