Family Promise of Southern Chester County — an affiliate of Family Promise, the nation’s leading nonprofit helping families experiencing homelessness — now includes Pets with a Promise, which allows families to keep their pets while working toward independence in the program.
“We are grateful to Pets with a Promise for this unique and thoughtful gift,” said Family Promise Executive Director Susan Minarchi in a press release. “This gift will allow us to keep our families and their pets together, which will make for a smoother transition for our families.”
The program launched with the help of a $150,000 grant from PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America. The money will be disbursed in $2,500 increments to participating Family Promise Affiliates, including right here in Southern Chester County. The funds will allow Family Promise of Southern Chester County to offer direct services to families with pets including boarding, vaccinations, veterinary care, pet supplies, and transportation related to boarding or fostering.
This program continues a five-year effort to address the heartbreaking choice that families often face when losing their homes — to seek shelter or to keep their beloved pet.
Family Promise President Claas Ehlers said in the release, “Just because children and their families lose their homes, they should not have to lose their pets. PetSmart Charities recognizes that its resources can prevent that additional trauma for families and keep the whole family—including its four-legged members—together. With their support and through the work of our 200-plus Family Promise affiliates, Pets with a Promise is an important part of a holistic, community-based approach to addressing family homelessness.”
Family Promise began working with PetSmart, Inc. in 2012 with the innovative PetSmart Promise program. On-site kennel facilities were built at Family Promise Day Centers nationwide to house guests’ pets. PetSmart also donated and installed aquariums to help teach the values and responsibilities of pet ownership, provided boarding space at PetsHotels, and created a fostering manual and network to house pets when on-site facilities were not available.
That program has been shifted to PetSmart Charities in 2017, but the mission remains the same—keeping families and their pets together.
“At PetSmart Charities, our mission is to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and that bring people and pets together,” said David Haworth, DVM, Ph.D., president of PetSmart Charities. “By working with organizations like Family Promise to support Pets with a Promise, we hope to create more resources for families with pets during difficult transitions and alleviate pet homelessness across the country.”
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