This winter, the Ross Medical Education Center campus in Owensboro, Kentucky once again raised awareness and items for the 4th Annual 1000 lb Challenge in conjunction with the Owensboro Humane Society. Each year that the campus hosts and participates in this event is exciting, and they are able to raise more awareness and more items to help their furry friends in need.
“Out of all the community projects that we do, this one is my favorite,” shared Campus Director LaTasha Shemwell as she reflected on this event. “It feels good to know that our students, faculty, staff, and community members have come together to make a positive impact on a pet’s life. This year our students, faculty, and staff poured their hearts out and donated 90% of the items. As a Campus Director, this made me so proud.”
The Owensboro Humane Society’s mission is Bringing People and Pets Together. It is a no kill shelter that operates on donations only. An employee of the shelter stated, “we look forward to Ross Education putting on this event each year. We are at full capacity and need all the help we can get. A thousand pounds of dog and cat food will last our animals for weeks.” The Owensboro Humane Society also offers low cost spay and neutering, and nail clipping upon donations.
“We wanted to raise 1000 lbs, so we put flyers out in the local pet stores, submitted an article to our local newspaper, and I was also given the opportunity to talk on the radio,” Campus Director LaTasha Shemwell stated. “These efforts allowed us to meet our goal and ultimately raise 1002 lbs. The items we collected were dog and cat food, cat litter, old blankets, dog and cat toys, dog treats and tons of cleaning supplies such as bleach and paper towels. On the last day of the event the Owensboro Humane Society brought a couple of dogs to our facility that were up for adoption. The Humane Society is very cautious of who they let adopt their animals. Before a pet is adopted the Humane Society has to make sure the buyer meets all criteria.”
For more information about pet adoption and/or how you can help, please contact the Owensboro Humane Society at 270 302-6813 or visit their website at owensborohumane.org.