PetSmart’s Chance & Friends Holiday Philanthropic toy drive is a favorite among PetSmart associates and is already off to a record-breaking start. Each year, PetSmart stores across North America select a local charity and invite customers to purchase and donate toys from the Chance & Friends collection to their toy drive. The toys are then delivered to organizations such as children’s hospitals, police departments, animal shelters and other nonprofit organizations in their community.
Within the first several days of the toy drive, which launched in October, a Greensboro, N.C. PetSmart store donated their first 100 Chance & Friends to the Ronald McDonald House, while a Houston-area PetSmart delivered 500 toys to Texas Children’s Hospital. The Vista, Calif. PetSmart donated 400 Chance & Friends to Toys for Tots and a store in Canada donated hundreds more to the Ontario Fire Department to give to kids in crisis. Since the toy drive launched, a total of 1.5 million toys have been donated across North America. Shoppers can choose from a plush dog, cat, bunny or unicorn, complete with a squeaker, that will delight pets and kids alike. For every in-store or online purchase of a commemorative toy from the Chance & Friends collection, PetSmart will donate 10% of the sale to PetSmart Charities to fund animal-assisted therapy programs at children’s hospitals.