On Saturday, October 11th, the Ross Medical Education Center campus in Owensboro, KY hosted their first annual 10,000 Pound Challenge in conjunction with the local Owensboro Humane Society. Campus Director Latasha Shemwell states,” Saturday’s event was a huge success! My team would like to do a community event at least once a month and what better way than to help a local agency and also bring positive awareness to Ross!”
The Owensboro Humane Society is currently at full capacity. Because they do not receive much funding through the state, they struggle to adequately provide for all of the animals in their care and heavily rely on donations from those in the community. Carmel, Owensboro Humane Society President, said that the event came right on time. She shared that the organization has been low on funding due to high veterinarian costs, so any supplies donated are greatly needed and appreciated!
The goal of the 10,000 Pound Challenge was for local businesses to challenge their employees to bring in items that the Humane Society is in need of such as dog food, cat food, kitty litter, blankets, pet friendly toys, and cleaning supplies. On Saturday between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm, businesses could drop off their items to the Owensboro Ross location. The Humane Society also brought two dogs out who were available for adoption! Although this year the campus didn’t quite meet their 10,000 lbs. goal, they were able to raise awareness in their community and donate 600 lbs. to the Humane Society which is a huge success with this first annual event! Next year they hope to make the event even bigger and include more individuals and businesses in their community!
To learn more about the event, check out Channel 14 News and the Tristate Homepage. To learn more about how you can help the Owensboro Humane Society, visit their website or Facebook.