Posted: September 7, 2009, 5 a.m. EDT
Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank has been selected to serve as the 2009 ambassador for Iams Home 4 the Holidays dog adoption campaign.
Home 4 the Holidays founding partner, the Helen Woodward Animal Center, and nearly 3,500 participating animal organizations plan to help 1.5 million pets find homes during this year’s pet adoption drive, which runs Oct. 1 to Jan. 4, 2010.
As the 2009 ambassador, Swank will share her personal experience with adoption and rescue in an effort to help educate the public on how they can help homeless pets. According to Iams, the “Million Dollar Baby” star has adopted many pets throughout her life, including her two dogs Karoo and Rumi.
“I’m proud to be working with Iams Home 4 the Holidays to help raise awareness about the importance of pet adoption,” Swank said in a statement. “Last year, the program’s adoption goal was to get 1 million pets adopted in just three months, but this year the goal is even bigger.”
The Iams Home 4 the Holidays program started in 1999 and has since helped more than 3.2 million pets find homes.
“Now more than ever orphaned animals need our help, and who better to give them a voice than Hilary?” said Mike Arms, founder of Iams Home 4 the Holidays and president of the Helen Woodward Animal Center. “Along with Hilary and her inspiration, our 3,500 animal organizations are working to shine a big spotlight on the need to help the nearly 8 million homeless pets in our country, and [they] are committed to helping raise awareness about the importance of pet adoption.”