PHOENIX, 2016-Nov-24 — /EPR Retail News/ — For the people on your gift list who seem to have it all, PetSmart presents an exclusive collection of holiday gifts for people and pets alike. Best of all, these gifts have the power to do a lot of good. Through Dec. 25, PetSmart will donate 10 percent of the sales from its Holiday Philanthropic Collection to PetSmart Charities® and PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, the largest funders of animal welfare in North America, to help pets in need across the U.S. and Canada. Last year, sales from the philanthropic line raised more than $1 million, and this year PetSmart expects to raise about the same amount for the nonprofits.
At the core of the Holiday Philanthropic Collection is PetSmart’s collectible line of adorable plush toys: Chance, Lucky and Stanley.* These commemorative toys first launched in 2013 and are updated and refreshed every holiday season. For the third year in a row, PetSmart stores in the U.S. and Canada will conduct toy drives with Chance, Lucky and Stanley for children in need by teaming up with community partners. Through these toy drives, PetSmart shoppers are invited to purchase a plush toy and donate it at an in-store collection bin. The donated toys support toy drives organized by local children’s hospitals and police and fire departments to deliver a holiday gift to a child in need.
“Giving back is a holiday tradition at PetSmart and it is essential to the passion and purpose of our company,” said Eran Cohen, chief customer experience officer at PetSmart. “Through our Holiday Philanthropic Collection, our stores, associates and customers are able to help make the holidays a little more merry for the pets we support through our work with PetSmart Charities, and for children in need in the local communities where our 1,500 PetSmart stores operate.”
Details on PetSmart’s Holiday Philanthropic Collection:
- Chance, Lucky and Stanley* Plush Toys: A trio of kid- and pet-friendly plush toys that squeak when squeezed. Holiday shoppers can purchase toys to take home or choose to donate them to a toy drive at their local PetSmart store for children in need. All three retail for $5.00 each.
- Holiday Throws/Blankets: A selection of super-soft 50 x 60 inch blankets available in 12 different colors and designs to ensure your loved ones and their four-legged friends stay warm and cozy this winter. Blankets retail for $29.99. One of the designs, featuring the slogan, “I just want to drink wine and pet my dog,” is already a top-selling holiday item.
- XL-Plush Toys: Extra-large and extra cuddly plush toys come in four different characters: a brown dog, grey dog, holiday moose and penguin. Available at select PetSmart stores.
XL-Plush toys retail for $19.99. - Chance and Lucky Gift Cards: According to the National Retail Federation, gift cards are still one of the most sought-after gifts this holiday season, with 61 percent of shoppers reporting that the item is high on their gift shopping list. Through Dec. 25, PetSmart will donate 10 percent of the initial value placed on a special Chance and Lucky branded PetSmart gift card to PetSmart Charities. It’s the perfect gift for a pet lover or pet parent who has recently welcomed a new pet into their home.
#GivingTuesday – a Day Dedicated to Giving Back
Since 2012, Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving, has been celebrated the Tuesday following the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping weekend, to kick off the charitable season. For one day only, on #GivingTuesday (Tues., Nov. 29) 100 percent of the sales from online and in-store purchases of Chance, Lucky and Stanley* plush toys will be donated to PetSmart Charities in the U.S. or PetSmart Charities of Canada.PIN Pad Donations
Throughout the holiday season and every day in PetSmart stores, shoppers can effortlessly contribute to PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Charities of Canada through donations made on the PIN pad at store checkouts. The nonprofit organizations – which together have contributed more than $300 million to date to directly help pets in need – administer and efficiently use 90 cents of every dollar of the donations by issuing grants and providing additional support to help pets in need across North America. PetSmart Charities has received the Four Star Rating for the past 13 years from Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofit that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization.For those who would like a tax receipt for their charitable donation, please give online at www.petsmartcharities.org or www.petsmartcharities.ca. A donation made in the name of a loved one who is an animal welfare enthusiast can also make a meaningful holiday gift. Please consider making a donation and write a thoughtful card letting them know of your donation and how it will help pets in need.
With the help of PetSmart shoppers, PetSmart Charities, a strategic grantmaker dedicated to ending pet homelessness, helping pets in need and connecting pets and people, is expected to donate an estimated $30 million in 2016 alone. Funding support is granted to local animal welfare organizations and nonprofits that share PetSmart Charities’ mission.
*Stanley plush toy is available online and in-store in Canada and online in the U.S.
About PetSmart®
PetSmart, Inc. is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we love pets, and we believe pets make us better people. Every day with every connection, PetSmart’s passionate associates help bring pet parents closer to their pets so they can live more fulfilled lives. This vision impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates and how we give back to our communities. We employ approximately 53,000 associates, operate 1,500 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and 203 in-store PetSmart® PetsHotel® dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and pet products and offers dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, PetSmart Doggie Day Camp day care services and pet adoption services in-store. Our portfolio of digital resources for pet parents – including PetSmart.com, PetFoodDirect.com, Pet360.com and petMD.com – offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in the U.S. Through our in-store pet adoption partnership with independent nonprofit organizations, PetSmart Charities® and PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, PetSmart helps to save the lives of more than 500,000 homeless pets each year.Follow PetSmart on Twitter: @PetSmart
Find PetSmart on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PetSmart
See PetSmart on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/PetSmart
About PetSmart Charities®
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that saves the lives of homeless pets. Each year nearly 500,000 dogs and cats find homes through our adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and sponsored adoption events. Each year millions of PetSmart shoppers contribute to PetSmart Charities to help pets in need by making donations on a pin pad at the register. PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar to support its mission of finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets. PetSmart Charities grants more money to directly help pets in need than any other animal welfare group in North America, with a focus on funding adoption and spay/neuter programs that help communities solve pet overpopulation. PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization, independent from PetSmart, Inc. PetSmart Charities has received the Four Star Rating for the past 13 years from Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofit that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization.
About PetSmart Charities™ of Canada
PetSmart Charities of Canada is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that saves the lives of homeless pets in Canada. Each year more than 20,000 pets find Canadian homes through our adoption program in nearly all PetSmart stores across Canada and our sponsored adoption events. A leading funder of animal welfare, PetSmart Charities of Canada has granted more than $9.9 million to help pets in need with a funding focus on adoption and spay/neuter programs that help communities solve pet overpopulation. PetSmart Charities of Canada is a registered charity, independent from PetSmart.
Contacts:
Lauren Sawyer
lsawyer@petsmart.com
623-295-3238
PetSmart Media Line:
623-587-2177
Source: PetSmart Inc.