Calling all pet lovers! The Clear the Shelters campaign will attempt to find forever homes for every animal in need on Saturday, August 18.
More than 900 animal shelters and rescue groups across the country will be participating in the annual event, which has led to more than 168,000 adoptions since its debut in 2015. NBC and Telemundo-owned stations will work with shelters to host the nationwide pet adoption drive. So far, 14,645 pets have been adopted in 2018 alone, and Clear the Shelters hopes to see that number multiply significantly.
Shelters throughout the U.S. are seeking to empty their facilities completely by finding homes for all their animals. Many will even be reducing or waiving their adoption fees in the fourth annual drive on Saturday. The initiative ran throughout August and will culminate with a massive push this weekend.
In the Tri-State area of New York, involvement in Clear the Shelters has doubled over the past three years, while adoptions have tripled, according to Best Friends Animal Society. A remarkable 4,515 of the 6,810 local pets who found homes in the region were adopted in 2017. So the 2018 event is bound to be even more noteworthy.
Jane Lynch will host the televised recap of Clear the Shelters on NBC Saturday, August 25. “I am so looking forward to clearing the shelters with NBC and Telemundo stations!” the 58-year-old actress said in a statement. “Every pet deserves a loving human and nothing loves a human more than rescue pets.” The Glee alum is mom to several rescue pets and is a known animal advocate.
Last year, Kate Upton, Beth Stern and more celebrities encouraged their fans to help Clear the Shelters and shared stories about their own adoption experiences.
