For Immediate Release
Contact:  Jason Gerwig
630/407-6022
March 21, 2007

SMALL CHANGE MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR SHELTER ANIMALS

St. John the Baptist Students Collect 142,304 Pennies for Friends of DuPage County Animal Care & Control Foundation

WHEATON – Think pennies aren’t valuable?  Don’t tell that to the students at St. John the Baptist School in Winfield who last month collected 142,304 pennies during the school’s “Penny Wars”. 

The students, ranging from Pre-Kindergarten through 8^th Grade took part in the friendly “Penny Wars” competition in celebration of National Catholic Schools Week, resulting in over 800 pounds of pennies being collected.  The winning class was Grade 2 who collected 122 pounds in pennies.  On Friday, March 23^rd at 1:00 p.m., the school will present a check for $1,423.04 to Friends of DuPage County Animal Care & Control (DCACC) at an all school assembly.

“I want to commend all the students who took part in this drive,” said Patrick O’Shea, Chairman of the Judicial and Public Safety Committee, which oversees Animal Care and Control.  “Their hard work and selflessness will have an immediate impact in our continued effort to find loving and caring homes for all adoptable animals in our facility.”

The students of St. John the Baptist have elected to donate the proceeds from the “Penny Wars” to the Friends of DuPage County Animal Care & Control Foundation (Friends of DCACC), a newly formed not-for profit organization dedicated to providing all unwanted and homeless animals in DCACC with a second chance at life.  The foundation was formed to provide DCACC, a self-supporting county agency, with the funding for animal welfare and education initiatives that its normal operating budget cannot provide.

“I am overwhelmed at the generosity, heart and resolve that these amazing St. John the Baptist students have demonstrated” said Kerry Vinkler, DCACC Executive Director.  “It just goes to show that with a little bit of determination and a lot of heart, all of us can make a difference in our communities.  The money that these students have raised will go a long way in making life better for homeless and unwanted animals in DuPage County.”

The proceeds raised by the St. John the Baptist students will fund projects and programs aimed at improving the animal welfare and education initiatives already begun by DCACC in the hopes of making DuPage County an increasingly pet-friendly community.

Programs and projects to be funded by the Friends of DCACC Foundation include:  expanding humane education and behavioral training programs to encourage forever homes; the establishment of a critical care & rehabilitation fund for animals requiring emergency and rehabilitative veterinary care; the creation of a no/low cost spay/neuter program for dogs, cats and domestic rabbits; the creation of a no/low cost microchipping program to increase the probability of reuniting lost pets with their owners; and the funding of a new animal shelter to allow for the ever-increasing number of animals in need.

For more information about Friends of DCACC, please call (630) 407-2800 or visit www.DuPageAnimalFriends.org.  

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