March 22, 2010
Media contact: Tabitha Hanes, Community Relations Manager / (804) 521-1319
Richmond, VA (March 22, 2010) – Record numbers of Richmonders, along with their canine companions, descended upon the Robins-Starr Humane Center on Saturday, March 20 for the most successful Dog Jog and 5K Run in the eight-year history of the event to raise funds for dogs and cats in need. The local humane organization set an ambitious goal of $115,000 for this year’s Dog Jog and 5K Run, which is presented by Car Pool Car Wash & Detail, and preliminary totals at the conclusion of Saturday’s event showed that more than $121,187 was raised.
Robin Starr, chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA said, “We could never have hoped for a more successful Dog Jog than we had at the Richmond SPCA today with more human and canine participants, more vendors, more fun and more money raised to help homeless animals than we have ever had before. The success of the event was equal to the beauty of the day.”
The day’s festivities were held at 2519 Hermitage Road. Richmond Road Runners Club officiated the 5K Race with 454 runners competing. Later in the morning, more than 560 dogs and their families set off on a leisurely 1-mile course for the Dog Jog. Both courses were sponsored by Dominion.
About 20 of the dogs walking in the Dog Jog were also available for adoption. Adoptable dogs were accompanied by Richmond SPCA Running BuddiesTM volunteers who take shelter dogs on regular runs to ensure they get adequate exercise while awaiting their permanent homes. The Robins-Starr Humane Center was open to the public throughout the event, and 14 cats and dogs were adopted during the event.
The Holiday Barn Pet Resorts Vendor Fair included about 20 vendors and community organizations, offering music, activities for kids and pets, food, and a walk-up microchip clinic where 50 dogs were microchipped for permanent identification. At the Haley Pontiac GMC Awards Ceremony, awards were presented to the top fundraisers and the top 5K finishers. The Johnny Birkitt Hero Award, which honors a team or individual who demonstrates a deep commitment to homeless animals through participation in the Dog Jog & 5K Run, is the highest honor of the day and was be presented for the fourth time. The award was presented to Team Bank of America, whose team members executed creative fundraising activities, served on the event planning committee, sent a group of volunteers to help with the event and participated in both the run and walk. Team Bank of America raised $2,250 and was also the second place winner for most pledges raised.
Complete lists of top fundraisers as well as 5K race results can be found at www.richmondspca.org/race.
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The Richmond SPCA, founded in 1891, is a no-kill humane organization dedicated to the guiding principle that every life is precious. As a national leader in humane care and education, the Richmond SPCA is aggressively tackling the problem of pet overpopulation through programs of adoption, rehabilitation, spay/neuter, pet-retention, trap-neuter-return, and humane education. For more information, visit www.richmondspca.org.
Photograph courtesy of RichmondPetLovers.com.
Participant Survey
Dog Jog and 5K Run Page
Richmond SPCA photos on Flickr
Photos by Rich Terrell on Flickr
Photos by Osmund Geier
Photos courtesy of RichmondPetLovers.com
Video of Dog Jog on YouTube
If you would like us to add a link to your online photo gallery from the event, please e-mail a link to info@richmondspca.org.