Reaching a milestone is no accident.

Rally to Rescue is celebrating its five-year anniversary this year because its Rescue Ambassador organizations formed a community built on tireless passion.

Together, Ambassadors grew from one Do Your Own Rally to hundreds held across the United States. One pet adoption after another led more than 300,000 dogs and cats into forever homes.

Hundreds of rescue organizations and families are the fabric of countless happy, if sometimes tearful, storybook endings.

When a black Labrador Retriever recently was found by hikers in a state park, they contacted PAWS of Northeast Louisiana (NELA), a charter Rally to Rescue Ambassador group. “Annie” had heartworms and was thought to be near death. After living with a foster family for nearly a year, Annie was adopted.

“The woman who adopted Annie had gone through a recent divorce,” says Mary Linda Huggins, Rally to Rescue coordinator for PAWS of NELA. “The woman had been going through a very tough time emotionally.”

Having stayed in touch with the dog’s adopter, Huggins later learned how desperately the woman needed companionship when she described Annie as her lifesaver. “You often don’t realize how helping a pet in need will also impact the person who adopts her,” Huggins says, her voice cracking. “I’m starting to tear up just thinking about them.”

That’s the power of good matchmaking between adopters and companion animals. Volunteers at PAWS of NELA play parts in 115 similar stories each year.

In 2005, that heartfelt passion had rescuers in 250 Ambassador organizations waving and wearing the signature purple of Rally to Rescue. Today, twice that many member groups educate the public about spay and neuter programs, welcome volunteers into the pet rescue community and tally adoptions that change the lives of animals and families.

The Rally to Rescue program provides tangible support — a tent for events, signage, a flag, T-shirts for fundraising, and resources for hosting adoption events and Do Your Own Rallies — but the intangibles are prized at least as much.

“In an insurmountable way, this program has developed a forum for rescue groups to talk together and grow together,” says Deborah Cooper, founder of Rescue A Shar-Pei, a charter Ambassador group that adopts out 100 Shar-Peis each year. “The promotional items we get are much needed and appreciated, but the community aspect of the program has been a benefit that no one else can touch. It’s incredible.”

Networking is at the core of Guardians for Animals (GFA), another Ambassador since Rally to Rescue’s beginning. Since founding GFA in 2004 as a resource for animal rescues, Alexandria Whitney has helped bring six other Ambassador organizations into the community. As an umbrella rescue agency, GFA supports more than 30 rescues within 100 miles of its Troy, Mich., location, helping to find homes for more than 3,200 animals last year.

“I can’t begin to say how beneficial Rally to Rescue has been,” says Whitney. “We are appreciative of the tremendous value of the many tools Rally to Rescue provides to ensure a professional image. It makes it easier to get the public involved in our mission of saving innocent, abused and abandoned animals.”

Last May Whitney was asked to participate in an annual charity walk to benefit pets hosted by the city of Clawson, Mich. “I asked if we could make it a Rally to Rescue event,” Whitney says. “Despite the cold, rainy day, in four hours we doubled the city’s usual participation for that event from 2,000 to 4,000 people, and we raised $4,000 from T-shirt sales and the city’s donated portion of the entry fees. We have plans to do it again in 2010.”

Raising Awareness
Chuck Daly, fundraising and event coordinator for Delaware Valley Siberian Husky Rescue (DVSHR), says awareness is the key to making success stories happen. Daly and his wife, Louise, have volunteered with DVSHR since 1999. They have adopted all four of their dogs through the rescue, which adopts out around 60 Siberian Huskies per year.

“Before we encountered the rescue, we had no idea of the need of dogs — and of cats — to be adopted,” Chuck Daly says. “It was an eye-opener. The more we learned, the more we wanted to help.”

Huggins also attests to that “owner-first” experience, as does Kim Bolster, who is vice president of fundraising and public outreach for another charter Ambassador group. Volunteers at Mid-Atlantic English Springer Spaniel Rescue (MAESSR) adopt out more than 250 springers each year in a seven-state region from Pennsylvania to South Carolina.

“Our passion for rescue often builds from getting a dog ourselves,” Bolster says. “You love the dog and start wondering how many great animals are out there in need of homes. You start transporting for a rescue group, then start helping in other ways. It grows.”

That experience and awareness goes for rescue organizations, too. The more the rescue members learn — and teach — the more pets that can be helped. “I started Rescue A Shar-Pei more than 20 years ago,” says Cooper, “but I learn more all the time through talking with other rescuers. Rally to Rescue helps bring that network together, that opportunity to exchange ideas.”

Getting those ideas out to the public is the next step. “I do my best to educate people that rescue is out there,” Huggins says. “When I bought a Labrador Retriever in 2000, I hadn’t heard anything about rescue. Now I let people know that adoption is a possibility.”

“Publicity is one of the biggest things all rescue groups need,” Chuck Daly says. “Before Rally to Rescue came about, rally events were not common for our group or our area. Now it’s so much easier to organize, having the resources like press releases, publicity materials, the tent and giveaways.”

Like Alexandria Whitney and GFA, the Ten Lives Club, a charter Ambassador organization in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, has learned that other professionals welcome the Rally to Rescue approach.

Since November 2008, the Ten Lives Club has rented a storefront in a shopping mall, paid with donor support, at a reduced rate. The adoption location is called “Tabby Town,” and its storefront proudly bears the Rally to Rescue logo. Having established its reputation with the mall’s management, the Ten Lives Club hosted a pet expo last October. More than 30 pet-related vendors participated.

“We were able to do that because of Rally to Rescue,” says Marie Edwards, director of Ten Lives. “We’re able to put on better displays, draw better attention, raise more funds selling T-shirts, and find homes for more cats because we’ve been able to present ourselves as a professional organization.

“Since November 2008, we’ve adopted out more than 1,100 cats from Tabby Town,” Edwards says, noting the rescue operates eight other locations, including some in PETCO and PetSmart retail stores. “When I see an empty kennel space at one of our adoption locations, I know that means we’ve not only done right by finding that cat a loving home, but we’ve created an opportunity for another cat to receive the attention it needs and to be adopted. That’s what keeps me going.”

The Ten Lives Club plans to repeat its break-out event in 2010, as do many Ambassadors. It’s a new year and a new step toward the next milestone as a Rally to Rescue network, as single rescue organizations, as individual volunteers. Milestones are achieved day by day, cat by cat, dog by dog, driven by that one passion all Ambassadors share.

“We try our best to make sure people see the purple,” Bolster says. “The logo and color draws attention. It’s made all the difference for us. Our relationship with Rally to Rescue has been very worthwhile, absolutely wonderful.”

Spotlight on Charter Ambassadors

Leading Rally to Rescue into its sixth year are 94 charter Ambassador organizations that signed on at the beginning. They have helped grow the community on behalf of dogs and cats around the country.