Amid Pandemic The World Unites For Orphan Pets

RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif., Sept. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- If the global pandemic has proven anything, it has shown that it is possible for the world to come together for a common cause, though separated by distance.  This year, an annual global campaign will have an even larger symbolic impact due to what has become 2020's new normal ? the Zoom call. Culminating on Remember Me Thursday® (RMT), a worldwide pet adoption awareness campaign now in its 8^th year will unite animal advocates from locations as far away as Estonia, Bulgaria, and Singapore, virtually via video chat, to simultaneously light up the world for orphan pets. Helen Woodward Animal Center invites the public to join us via Zoom on Remember Me Thursday®, September 24 at 9:00 a.m. PST to #SeeTheLight about pet adoption. 

RMT was established in 2013 by Helen Woodward Animal Center President and CEO Mike Arms. Moved by the staggering statistics that over a million homeless pets lose their lives each year in the U.S., Arms put out a call to rescue organizations in an attempt to create a social media global awareness campaign. As creator of the International Pet Adoptathon and the International Home 4 the Holidays® program (placing over 17 million pets in homes since 1999), he was able to send out an expansive request and the response was significant.

"We understand that not everyone is in the position to adopt a pet," explained Arms, "but we also know that anyone who loves animals and is tapped into social media has the ability to share a message of support. By uniting all of these social media voices on one day, we can make a larger impact and really affect change."

Now in its eighth year, RMT has been supported by 190 countries with hundreds of thousands of individuals and more than 1,000 separate animal welfare organizations around the globe holding candle-lighting ceremonies of their own, spreading the message on social media, or lighting a virtual candle.  The enormous swell of celebrity support includes stars such as Bethenny Frankel, Kristin Chenoweth, Carrie Ann Inaba, Katherine Heigl, Rick Springfield, Wynonna Judd, George Lopez, along with dozens of athletes, designers, musicians, and social media influencers. With over 100 luminaries onboard, the star power behind the campaign has resulted in the topic trending each year on both Facebook and Twitter, garnering more than 1 billion social media impressions since its start. 

This year, for the first time ever, representatives from animal welfare organizations and campaign luminaries from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, New York, North Carolina, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, have decided to unite on an international Zoom call to share the significance of RMT within their respective organizations and countries.  Speakers from each organization will share the state of animal welfare in their area and how they are commemorating the pet adoption awareness campaign. At the same time, essential staff at Helen Woodward Animal Center will wave hello from Rancho Santa Fe as part of the virtual program which kicks off Thursday, Sept. 24 at 9:00 a.m. PST.

The virtual program will also include words from RMT founder and Center President and CEO Mike Arms, a reading of the official RMT poem and a presentation of the RMT Rescue Pet Hero award. The ceremony will end with a heartfelt international candle lighting in remembrance of the millions of orphan pets still waiting in shelters for their own forever homes.

The one-of-a-kind international RMT Zoom call will be available online for the animal-loving public to watch. Those who wish to register to watch can click here. The public can also get involved by tweeting, tagging, posting and sharing the beauty and life-saving significance of pet adoption using the hashtag #RememberMeThursday and #SeeTheLight and @hwac. 

Animal-lovers can also win life-saving funds, toys and food for adoptable pets looking for forever families at their favorite non-profit, pet adoption organization. To enter the Remember Me Thursday Social Media Contest, simply upload your rescue pet's photo and story to the #RememberMeThursday Photo Wall for a chance to win!* (*Restrictions apply.  Final selection remains at the sole discretion of Helen Woodward Animal Center).

For more information on Remember Me Thursday® and a full list of participating celebrities and animal welfare organizations, go to www.remembermethursday.org.

SOURCE Helen Woodward Animal Center