The St. Charles Parish Animal Shelter has the opportunity to win $10,000 with local community support in the “America’s Favorite Animal Shelter — A New Year of Hope for Animals” contest sponsored by Care2.com and Adopt-a-Pet.com.

Online voters’ favorite local animal shelter will win the grand prize, which will help in the shelter’s mission to find good homes for the over 1650 dogs and cats the shelter takes in each year.

The Web address to vote is http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/75671. People can also invite their friends via e-mail to vote for the shelter as well.

Care2.com, the largest online community of people passionate about making a difference, is hosting the contest with Adopt-a-Pet.com to bring public awareness about the plight of homeless animals over the holiday season.

In addition to the grand prize, Care2 is awarding $1,000 each to the second and third runner-ups, and $500 each to the groups that come in fourth through twentieth in the contest.

The contest aims to raise awareness about the importance of supporting pet adoptions and taking action to save homeless animals’ lives. All participating animal shelters and rescue groups, including The St. Charles Parish Animal Shelter, are part of the Adopt-a-Pet.com network.

“Animal Control has been interested in building a new shelter for some time now due to crowded conditions at the current shelter on River Road in Luling,” Shelter Supervisor Angie Robert said. “The grand prize would certainly help us reach that goal, but it would also touch the lives of all the animals we care for.”

“As we enter this holiday season and the economic crisis deepens, we commend groups, like the St. Charles Parish Animal Shelter, which promote the need for pet adoption to save animals’ lives,” said Randy Paynter, CEO and founder of Care2. “We are excited to work with Adopt-a-Pet.com’s network of shelters and rescue groups to support a cause that really matters to our members and so many others — the welfare and adoption of animals.”

How The Contest Works:

The contest runs from Dec. 1, 2008 through Jan. 31, 2009 on Care2.com’s Web site. Anyone can simply go to http://www.care2.com/holidaycontest and vote for their favorite shelter or rescue group. The shelter or group that receives the most votes nationwide wins the grand prize of $10,000.

Care2 is also giving away a total of $10,500 to the next 19 groups with the highest votes, as well as $500 at random each week during the contest period to ensure every shelter and rescue group has a chance to win, providing the St. Charles Parish Animal Shelter another opportunity to support its causes.

Shelter supporters can also invite their friends and encourage them to vote for The St. Charles Parish Animal Shelter. The results of votes for shelters and groups are updated in real-time. The 20 people who recruit the most friends to vote will receive a $50 gift certificate sponsored by Care2. Visitors can keep track of who has recruited the most people to vote for their favorite shelters at http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/75671.

About Care2

With more than 9.4 million members and 350 nonprofit partners worldwide, Care2 is the largest and most trusted action and information site for people who want to make the world a healthier, greener and better place to live. Founded in 1998, Care2 has featured nearly 244,000 petitions created by the site and its members, collecting more than 28 million signatures on timely and important issues, ranging from wildlife conservation to healthcare to human rights. Visit the Care2 community at www.care2.com.

About Adopt-a-Pet.com

Adopt-a-Pet.com is a non-profit pet adoption charity that helps shelters, humane societies, SPCAs, pet rescue groups, and pet adoption agencies advertise their homeless pets to adopters for free.

Contact:

St. Charles Animal Control Shelter stcharles.animalcontrol@yahoo.com (985) 783-5010.