The MaxFund Animal Adoption Center, a Denver-based no-kill shelter, is a finalist in a contest to win a $1 million shelter makeover that initially involved more than 900 shelters across the United States.
On Friday, the advisory board of , a national pet lover’s website holding the contest, will visit the MaxFund’s shelter at 1025 Galapago St., as part of the final selection process.
The contest, launched in October, ended March 31. Each of the shelters won points when thousands of people visited and became members, recruited new members and reviewed pet products.
MaxFund finished third in the number of votes.
The advisory board is visiting the 20 finalists to consider the conditions of each shelter, its policies and procedures, and the community’s commitment to the shelter.
MaxFund officials said today that supporters of the MaxFund shelter can help them win the grand prize by doing two things: becoming a member or logging onto their existing accounts and writing a journal entry voicing their support for the MaxFund.
Another help would be for them to show their support by attending the advisory board’s visit to the MaxFund at 9:30 a.m. Friday, they said.
“We would love to have all of MaxFund’s volunteers, supporters and friends out Friday morning, holding signs and banners and welcoming the directors, to show them what a great support base MaxFund really has,” said Matt Adams, MaxFund’s volunteer coordinator. “This makeover would mean MaxFund could take in even more animals in the process of helping them to find loving homes.”
In addition to the grand-prize shelter makeover, one runnerup will win a $10,000 cash prize, and the other 18 finalists will each receive $5,000.
All 20 finalists will be recognized at The Humane Society of the United States Animal Care EXPO in Orlando, Fla., on May 15, where the winners will be announced.
Lori Moss, executive director of the MaxFund shelter, says winning the grand prize would help enormously.
“Since we are a no-kill shelter, winning would be huge,” said Moss. “We are a very small shelter. We’d be able to take in more animals. It would be a better place for them to be until they are adopted.”
MaxFund is a nonprofit organization that was established in 1988 to provide medical care for injured pets with no known owners and to seek out new homes for the animals once they recover.
The shelter has established a number of missions. They include developing and implementing educational programs pertaining to animal care, with an emphasis on the importance of spaying and neutering. The shelter also sees itself as a voice on issues of animal welfare. MaxFund has found adoptive homes for more than 15,000 animals since it opened.
, which was launched in October 2007, is a pet community website that offers new ways to help pets. People share information and connect with other pet lovers. rewards their activity with contributions to animal shelters and rescue groups.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
