Petition to urge Merritt Athletic Clubs to sponsor Baltimore City Animal Shelter fundraiser

Whereas, Merritt Athletic Club is a business which relies upon the support of the communities where it is located along with its residents;

Whereas, the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) is a community nonprofit that serves the same areas where Merritt conducts its busines;

Whereas, a majority of Merritt members are pet owners;

Therefore, we, the members of the Merritt Athletic Club, hereby petition Merritt to sponsor the Baltimore City Animal Shelter's first annual fundraiser, BARCStoberfest, a city festival being held Oct. 8, 2005 in Patterson Park. As Merritt members, we strongly believe that this will not only be a great event for Merritt to market its services, but to also give back to the community that has given it so much.

Background information:
In recognizing the need to have a city animal shelter that serves as a true resource for the people and animals of Baltimore, the Baltimore City Animal Shelter has been granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and renamed the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS). This means that in addition to receiving funding from Baltimore City, BARCS now has the critical ability to raise private funding from the community and significantly enhance its volunteer and programmatic efforts.

As a result, BARCS is organizing BARCStoberfest, its very first fundraiser and community outreach event! The event will include fun for the whole family and their pets including: special activities for the kids, many delicious food vendors, pet contests, agility and K-9 demonstrations, pet acupuncture, massage, grooming, obedience training, pet health and spay/neuter information, low-cost pet Micro chipping, live music, and a silent auction. As a true community event being held in one of the most widely used city parks, we expect approximately 1,000 people and their pets to attend.

With a population of over 600,000 people in Baltimore city and an estimated 355,000 pets, approximately 60\% (three out of five people) in the city own pets. The shelter receives an estimated 17,000 unwanted, abused or stray animals each year, in addition to managing 32,000 animal welfare enforcement cases. While many people think of the shelter as just a place for dogs and cats, it helps all types of animals including birds, reptiles, rabbits and other wild animals. Since being reorganized as BARCS in November 2004, the shelter has:

Hired new staff;
Created a volunteer program;
Doubled adoption rates and significantly decreased euthanasia rates;
Developed working relationships with other area rescues and shelters;
Improved intake procedures, animal care and customer service to the public;
Created a quarterly newsletter.

The success of this fundraiser is essential in helping Baltimore City transform its animal shelter into a place that can serve the needs of the citys animals. With your help and support, our goals are attainable! We want to significantly:

Increase our number of adopted animals;
Reduce animal suffering and cruelty;
Raise community awareness and involvement;
Enhance educational support and training for the loving care of pets.

Merritt members believe this is an opportunity that Merritt Athletic Clubs should not miss!!!

(If you would like to learn more, please contact Marjie Wasson at 410-772-2488 or [email protected])