Walk ‘n’ Roll: AHS starts off walk-a-thon season

By Meredeth Barzen

The crocuses are out, the trees are budding, the dog-friendly patios have once again placed water bowls outside—these signs can only mean one thing: It’s walk-a-thon fundraiser season, and Animal Humane Society’s Walk for Animals is poised to get things started with a “woof” on Saturday, May 1.

A past Walk for Animals participant gets festive.

The folks at AHS have been doing this for 36 years now, and they’ve got the whole camaraderie/pledge-raising/pet-loving thing down to a science by now. The largest Minnesota animal fundraiser and the nation’s largest human/pet walk was created as a way for the community to get more involved in AHS’s work and support the animals that need their help, says AHS’ Carrie Libera. “And, of course, to celebrate the animals in our own lives!” she adds.

If you like numbers, here are some stats from last year: Roughly 8,000 walkers and 4,000 animals participated in last year’s walk, raising more than $1 million to support adoption, rescue, outreach and training efforts at AHS.

This year, AHS’ goal is to raise $1.1 million to support the nearly 35,000 unwanted, homeless, and neglected animals AHS cares for each year at their five Twin Cities locations. Seventy percent of AHS’ operating budget comes from donations, which means the public’s generosity is crucial to the organization’s success.

There will be plenty of diversions for both you and Rover, including a “Flealess Market” of pet and people vendors, games for you and your dog, the fabulous Radio Disney Dancers, a pet microchip and nail trim clinic, pet contests, recognition awards and more. Plus, you’ll get to mingle with all the other pet-lovers and critters at the event—Carrie says creatures of all stripes attend, from parrots to pot-bellied pigs.

If you’ve procrastinated and think it’s too late to sign up, volunteer, or raise pledges, you’re just plain wrong. You can sign up as an individual or form a team, and you can raise pledges in person or online. “Also, for those people who don’t want to raise pledges and walk, but still want to help out, we also have some volunteer opportunities still available for this year’s walk. We are especially looking for people who are interested in helping out with traffic and crowd control,” Carrie says, pointing out that it takes more than 500 volunteers to organize and produce the Walk.

And if you’re curious (we, being nerdy and trivia-obsessed, certainly are): As of Monday, April 12, there were 2,331 walkers registered for this year’s event—734 more than had signed up at this point last year—with an average of 50 walkers registering each day.

The Deets:

Where: Animal Humane Society, 845 Meadow Lane North, Golden Valley

Route: Begins at AHS, walks north into Theodore Wirth Park and then back; approximately 5 miles, but walkers can turn back at any time.

When: Saturday, May 1, 2010

8:30 a.m.—Registration and activities begin

10 a.m.—Opening rally and walk begins

Post-walk activities run until 2 p.m.

And check out this nifty chart Carrie sent along breaking down your contributions’ impact:

Where a Walker’s Contribution Goes

$10,000—Supports the operating expenses of our Woodbury location for six days

$5,000—Helps fund a cruelty investigation and animal rescue

$2,500—Provides medical supplies and medications for 41 spay/neuter surgeries

$1,000—Gives housing and care to 67 animals in the shelter for one day

$500—Helps three dogs through the Adoption Preparation program which readies shyor fearful dogs for adoption

$250—Provides X-rays for two injured animals

$100—Provides sterilization surgery for two puppies

$50—Two stray cats receive full vaccinations