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Home > The Alliance in the News > 2007 Alliance News Items > ASPCA Marks 141st Anniversary With ASPCA Day! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, March 6, 2007 ASPCA Marks 141st Anniversary With ASPCA Day! Country's First Animal Welfare Organization Kicks off Nationwide "Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month" New York, NY – Tuesday, March 6, 2007 – This April, the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) will mark 141 years since its founding as the first animal welfare organization in the Western Hemisphere — and as such, April is appropriately deemed Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. To commemorate this milestone in the history of animal welfare, the ASPCA will celebrate "ASPCA Day" on April 10. A combination of civic and community events will see buildings and landmarks around the country "Go Orange for Animals" to mark the occasion, as well as the "ASPCA Day Festival," which will take place in New York City's Union Square that evening. National icons that have already confirmed their participation include the Empire State Building, the Los Angeles Coliseum and the Sears Tower in Chicago. Additionally, animal lovers across the country will be able to vie for the title of the first annual "Community Leader of 2007" — a contest that celebrates community involvement in the ASPCA's 141-year old mission. To find out more, please visit www.aspca.org/aspcaday. One hundred and forty-one years ago, ASPCA founder Henry Bergh saw a carthorse being brutally beaten by his driver on the streets of New York City, and was compelled to establish what is now the oldest humane organization in the United States. Today, the ASPCA continues to keep Henry Bergh's dream alive; as a national organization headquartered in New York City, it works with shelters and humane societies across the country to promote its mission of the prevention of cruelty to animals through education and outreach. In 2007, the ASPCA embarked upon ASPCA® Mission: Orange™, which aims to use precisely these tools, in a focused, measurable manner, to create a country of humane communities, one community at a time (www.aspca.org/missionorange). The celebration of ASPCA Day will reinforce the ASPCA's 141-year-old mission and the vital work it undertakes in communities around the country to ensure that animals receive the compassion and respect they deserve. "We're proud to celebrate ASPCA Day and our 141st Anniversary with help from our supporters around the country," said ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres. "While our critical work continues every day of the year, the commemoration of our founding gives us opportunity to reflect on not just how far we have to go towards fulfilling our vision of a country of humane communities, but also to celebrate just how far we have come. April is a time for the celebration of, and renewed commitment towards, the humane treatment of the animals we are honored to share our lives and this planet with." This year, for the first time, 2007 will see the introduction of the "ASPCA Community Leader of 2007" Contest as part of the month-long commemoration. While countless of the ASPCA's one million members and supporters will be helping their friends, families and communities to "Go Orange for Animals," the most creative of these efforts that is entered in this competition will receive: a trip to New York City for a two nights/three days, a guided tour of the newly renovated ASPCA shelter, an opportunity to meet ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres as well as its Humane Law Enforcement Officers, who are featured on the award-winning "Animal Precinct," and their photograph and contest results published in ASPCA Action as well as featured on the Web site and News-Alert. For more information on how to enter the "ASPCA Community Leader of 2007" Contest, please visit www.aspca.org/aspcaday. For more information on how to stay alert towards, and prevent, cruelty to animals, please visit www.aspca.org.
Founded in 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was the first humane organization established in the Western Hemisphere and today has one million supporters. The ASPCA's mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA provides national leadership in anti-cruelty, animal behavior, humane education, government affairs and public policy, shelter support, and animal poison control. The NYC headquarters houses a full-service animal hospital and adoption facility. The Humane Law Enforcement department enforces New York's animal cruelty laws and is featured on the reality television series "Animal Precinct" on Animal Planet. Visit www.aspca.org for more information.
Contact: Anita Kelso Edson, ASPCA Senior Director, Media and Communications (212) 876-7700 ext. 4566
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