Maxi Zoo | Maxi Zoo customers have once again supported animal heroes

140,000 reasons to believe that helping makes a difference. Maxi Zoo customers have once again supported animal heroes

Maxi Zoo customers have once again proved that even a small gesture can make a difference to the lives of people and animals. Thanks to the ‘Friendship Unites – Together for Animals’ campaign, 140,000 zł was raised to support the animals that help people every day. The funds will go to the GOPR Foundation and the Animals for People Association and will be used for the training, care and development of these animal heroes.

The “Friendship Unites – Together for Animals” campaign has been engaging Maxi Zoo customers in joint charitable efforts for years. This year’s spring edition ran from April to the end of June. Customers were able to support the initiative by purchasing a special charity bag and products from previous editions of the campaign. Thanks to their involvement, 123,500 zł was raised, and Maxi Zoo donated an additional 16,500 zł. In total, the GOPR Foundation and the Animals for People Association will receive 140,000 zł.

The funds donated to the GOPR Foundation will support the training and preparation of rescue dogs, which, together with their handlers, take part in search and rescue operations in the mountains and in hard-to-reach terrain. It is precisely their effectiveness that is the result of hundreds of hours of training, specialist courses and the daily work of entire teams.

– Every rescue operation is the result of the immense dedication of people and dogs who spend many months preparing together to work in the most challenging conditions. The support provided by Maxi Zoo’s customers will help us develop further rescue teams and provide even more effective assistance to those in need. We would like to thank everyone who has decided to support our mission,” says Patryk Czermak of the GOPR Foundation.

The other half of the funds will go to the Animals for People Association, whose dogs and cats support children, older people and those in hospitals, rehabilitation centres and care homes every day. Thanks to appropriate training, the animals help to build a sense of security, motivate patients to undergo therapy and support the healing process.

– Behind every calm entry of a dog into a hospital ward lie months of work, training and building a relationship between the animal and its handler. Thanks to initiatives such as the Maxi Zoo campaign, we can train further therapy teams and reach even more people for whom the presence of animals helps restore a sense of calm, motivation and a smile. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Maxi Zoo’s customers for their trust and support,” says Sabina Złotorowicz-Ryś from the Animals for People Association.

– Every edition of the ‘Friendship Unites – Together for Animals’ campaign shows that our customers want to help in a meaningful way and understand the impact their support has. What may seem like a simple purchase of a bag translates into the training of more rescue dogs, the development of therapy teams and support for organisations that, every day, foster the extraordinary bonds between humans and animals. “Thank you to everyone who has once again been part of this initiative,” says Wojciech Kamiński, Managing Director of Maxi Zoo Polska.

The ceremonial presentation of cheques to representatives of the GOPR Foundation and the Animals for People Association took place on 30 July at the Maxi Zoo store in Mysiadło, near Warsaw. The event was attended by representatives of both organisations, as well as rescue and therapy dogs that support people on a daily basis.  

The “Friendship Unites – Together for Animals” campaign is one of the most important social projects run by Maxi Zoo in Poland. For years, it has been uniting the brand’s customers around a common goal – supporting animals that help people every day. Since the initiative began, over 1,413,000 zlotys have been raised for these animal heroes, of which 1,166,000 zlotys went to the GOPR Foundation, and 217,000 zlotys to the Animals for People Association.