NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October 11, 2018) - Since 2014, Pet Community Center (PCC) and Metro Animal Care and Control (MACC) have worked closely together to end pet homelessness in Davidson County. By adopting best practices to support pets in Nashville and reduce shelter intake, PCC and MACC have radically changed the face of animal welfare in Nashville.
Before the current director of MACC, Lauren Bluestone, took the helm of the shelter and PCC’s current CEO, Natalie Corwin, opened a high volume spay/neuter clinic, MACC took in more than 10,000 animals annually with only 30% finding a home or rescue placement – the rest were euthanized. After extensive research, the organizations concluded that Nashville needed 8,000 additional spay/neuter surgeries per year to reduce and prevent this problem. Their implementation was both swift and successful.
By employing a strategic spay/neuter program with PCC and increasing the support of adoptable animals, MACC now boasts an enormously high save rate of nearly 90%. For this phenomenal partnership, the organizations were nominated for a Salute to Excellence Award.
For the past 25 years, community and nonprofit leaders in Middle Tennessee have gathered together for a night of recognition and celebration at the Center for Nonprofit Management’s Salute to Excellence, the largest nonprofit awards ceremony in the country. Salute brings together more than 1,100 local business, community, and nonprofit leaders as they honor organizations in 13 distinct categories of service.
During the 2018 Salute to Excellence Awards, Pet Community Center and Metro Animal Care and Control won big for their long-time partnership and combined goal of ending pet homelessness in Davidson County. The team won the Frist Foundation Team Building Award and brought home a whopping $25,000 prize. Pet Community Center was also nominated for the Frist Foundation Revenue Development award and won $10,000 as a finalist. The Pet Community Center took home the most prize money of the night at $35,000! “It is a pleasure to work with PCC, such a dedicated organization, each day, resulting in drastic improvements in the lives of the people and animals of Davidson county” said Lauren Bluestone.
“We are deeply grateful to Center for Nonprofit Management and the Frist Foundation for this recognition. It’s been a privilege to work with Lauren and her team” said Natalie Corwin. “Nashville has risen from a desperate situation to one of the safest and most humane cities for animals in the United States, and no one agency could have achieved that alone. I’m incredibly proud of the work our teams have done together.”
To learn more about Pet Community Center, visit www.petcommunitycenter.org
To learn more about Metro Animal Care and Control, visit www.nashville.gov/Health-Department/Animal-Care-and-Control.aspx
ABOUT PET COMMUNITY CENTER:
Pet Community Center is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the human animal bond through accessible veterinary care and support services.. Pet Community Center assists the public with free and low cost spay /neuter services and low cost veterinary services. Since 2011, Pet Community Center has served more than 50,000 animals and our programs are producing measurable decreases in the number of homeless animals that enter local shelters. Join the conversation: