The Animal Foundation Officially Breaks Ground on New Construction and Renovations as Part of ‘Mission: Possible 2020’
Event signals significant step in commitment to save all healthy and treatable animals that enter the Foundation’s care
by the end of the year 2020
Las Vegas –The Animal Foundation marked a major milestone in its commitment to save all healthy and treatable animals that enter its care by the end of the year 2020 with a ceremonial groundbreaking event to mark the start of new construction and renovations at its 8-acre campus. Joined by City and County leaders, as well as board members, donors, staff and volunteers, The Animal Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer Christine Robinson thanked key individuals and organizations who helped make the day a reality, less than two years after the Foundation unveiled its strategic plan and timeline for introducing new lifesaving programs, expanding existing lifesaving programs, and improving facilities to save more lives in a humane and healthy way.
“We asked the community for its support and people really came through for us,” said Robinson. “Today we celebrate and thank everyone who rallied around The Animal Foundation to contribute to Mission: Possible 2020, which is the key to making a lasting impact on the animals of our community through the growth of lifesaving programs and the facilities needed to support them.”
The new construction and renovations that are part of Mission: Possible 2020 have been funded by a $35 million capital campaign known as Mission: Possible 2020 – All of Us for All of Them. To date, nearly $32 million has been raised, with financing provided by Nevada State Bank. Estimated to be completed in third quarter of 2019, the new Engelstad Family Adoption Center will provide a permanent facility with safe and comfortable adoption areas for cats and other small animals, as well as administration offices and community education facilities. A complete renovation of the Lied Animal Shelter, to be undertaken alongside new construction, will provide hospital-grade, longer-term animal housing, improved isolation areas for the sick, and more comprehensive veterinary care with an expanded and upgraded clinic.
“This is truly a historic and exciting day for the Las Vegas Valley,” said Jan Jones Blackhurst, Campaign Chair of the Mission: Possible 2020 – All of Us for All of Them Capital Campaign and former mayor of the City of Las Vegas. “It’s amazing what can happen when members of a community come together to support each other. I am deeply heartened by the response to Mission: Possible 2020 and am more confident than ever that the initiative is going to have a tremendous impact on our Las Vegas community.”
Matthew Frazier, Vice-Chair of The Animal Foundation’s Board of Directors Executive Committee, told the audience that the new and renovated facilities will provide an improved environment for both animals and visitors. “Through carefully planned animal housing, designed in concert with best practices in animal shelter care, and new visitor meet-and-greet areas, our animals will be provided with safe and comfortable housing, and our visitors will get to know their potential companions in a more intimate and interactive environment.”
The Animal Foundation is the highest volume single-site animal shelter and pet adoption center in the nation and provides refuge for thousands of homeless animals throughout the Las Vegas Valley. In 2016, The Animal Foundation saved nearly 21,000 animals. Mission: Possible 2020 calls for the growth of lifesaving programs such as providing education and resources to keep people and pets together and delivering medical and behavioral help to ensure pets are healthy and get adopted, all of which will save even more lives by lowering intakes and increasing positive outcomes.
Said Robinson, “Today is about much more than a building. It’s the culmination of years of effort to more effectively address the needs of all the lost, homeless, abandoned and often mistreated animals that come into our care. Today we can be especially hopeful as we look forward to the benefits that this new state-of-the-art facility and the programs associated with Mission: Possible 2020 will bring to the animals we serve.”
The Animal Foundation still needs the support of the community to complete its objectives for Mission: Possible 2020. To learn more and to help, please visit Mission: Possible 2020.
The Animal Foundation is located at 655 North Mojave Road. For more information and to find a new companion, please visit animalfoundation.com.
# # #
ABOUT THE ANIMAL FOUNDATION
The Animal Foundation is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the lives of all healthy and treatable animals in the Las Vegas Valley. The Animal Foundation operates the highest volume single-site animal shelter in America, saving more than 21,000 pets every year. Founded in 1978, The Animal Foundation's lifesaving programs are designed to address the root causes of pet overpopulation and homelessness and include: adoptions; low-cost spay/neuter, microchipping and vaccination services; lost & found pets; Community Cats; and more. In June 2015, The Animal Foundation announced Mission: Possible 2020, a strategic initiative to save the lives of all healthy and treatable animals come to them in need by the end of the year 2020. To learn more about The Animal Foundation or view adoptable pets online, visit animalfoundation.com.