As a fun online competition, the Communications and Development Department decided to create a new community contest based off a previous staff game. A few years ago, to help better connect staff across KBH’s many locations, the KBH Connections Team launched the Pet Palooza. The game was a parody of The Bachelor where staff entered their pets to win the heart of the KBH mascot, Larry the Lynx.
This year, to raise money for the Substance Use Prevention & Intervention Program, KBH brought the challenge to the community. Staff, local humane societies and community members could enter their pets by filling out a fun application and sending in a couple of pictures. A webpage was created to showcase all the pets which included profile pages for each animal.
During the month of May, the competition followed four reality TV show parodies: The Real Housepets of Central Maine, Big Critter, Purrvivor and The Petchelor. Over the course of the month, individuals could vote for their favorite pet by making a small donation to that pet’s profile page.
Every dollar equaled one vote for the pet. A leadership board showcased which pets were in the lead. Pets who made the leadership board had more information about them revealed on their profile pages.
In the end, the winning pet was Lucy (pictured below), who received 367 votes. Lucy received a gift card donated by the Loyal Biscuit. Weekly winners (or pets who received the most votes in any given week) also received gift cards from Petco.
Over 30 pets were entered into the event from staff, community members and the humane societies. The campaign overall was a wonderful success and raised $2,500. KBH plans to once again host the competition in 2023 and hopes to partner with more organizations and increase the outreach of the campaign
