The Ryan Newman Foundation

ASHEVILLE, NC, JUNE 17, 2008 – Krissie Newman and Rosalie De Fini, Executive Director of the Ryan Newman Foundation, attended the grand opening of the first-ever national training center for spay/neuter in Asheville, NC on June 17. Ryan and Krissie Newman serve as the spokespeople of the Humane Alliance’s National Spay/Neuter Response Team.

The Humane Alliance began as a small spay/neuter clinic in Asheville, North Carolina in 1994. Today, the organization, which serves 39 agencies in 23 counties in NC, has turned into the most sought-after model for high-volume, low-cost, spay/neuter training in the nation. In honor of this achievement, the ASPCA and PetSmart Charities have generously funded a state-of-the-art national training center solely for spay/neuter agencies.

Just three years ago, Humane Alliance created the National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT), a mentoring and training program to help other organizations learn how to open and operate clinics in their communities. “They became so effective at delivering spay/neuter services in their region that they quickly became the ‘go to’ agency for groups that wanted to replicate their success,” says Susana Della Maddalena, Executive Director of PetSmart Charities. “We began funding them to support their unique mentoring program, which so far has facilitated the opening of more than 36 spay/neuter clinics in 19 states.”

This year, armed with $1 million in funding from the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) and $1 million from PetSmart Charities, the Humane Alliance stands ready to grow their mentoring program even more. On June 17, they opened a state-of-the-art national spay/neuter training center in Asheville, North Carolina, where organizations can send staff for hands-on training. “We committed to this project because we believe a national training center will promote best practices for developing and delivering high-quality, high-volume surgical sterilization techniques,” says Julie Morris, Senior Vice President of National Outreach for the ASPCA. “This is the first-ever training center for spay/neuter veterinarians and their surgical teams.”

The new 13,000 sq. ft. training academy will house a spay/neuter clinic with the capacity to sterilize 250 dogs and cats from western North Carolina per day – seven times more than the average clinic, which has one veterinarian on staff and performs approximately 35 surgeries per day. The facility will also be used to train spay/neuter clinic staff from across the country prior to their opening their own low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter clinics in their own communities.

Krissie Newman says, “Touring the Humane Alliance’s new National Spay/Neuter Response Team Training Center gave me chills. The numbers across the country proves that spay/neuter is the only way to reduce pet overpopulation and euthanasia. So many communities will be able to start their own clinics thanks
to the Humane Alliance opening this new training center.”

Humane Alliance’s curriculum already has received rave reviews from faculty at Texas A&M, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Cornell University veterinary schools. Under the leadership of Karla Brestle, DVM, Medical Director for the Humane Alliance, spay/neuter surgical teams will learn how to deliver high-quality, high-volume surgical sterilizations more quickly and safely. Organizations will also discover the steps to opening and operating a self-sustaining spay/neuter clinic in their community.

“We currently have 35 more groups seeking admittance to this highly-specialized training program, and more groups call every week,” says Quita Mazzina, Executive Director for Humane Alliance. “With a national training center, we can help groups make proven choices about how to open and operate their clinics. We
can shorten the learning curve and help groups establish best practices to achieve a higher volume of surgeries right from the start.”

The success of their mentoring program can be measured in the number of dogs and cats no longer reproducing. Since 1994, Humane Alliance has sterilized more than 180,000 dogs and cats in their North Carolina clinic. The clinics they have mentored have collectively sterilized more than 250,000 dogs and cats
nationwide.

“Because euthanasia is the number one killer of dogs and cats in this country, more than any other disease, we believe the best solution to the pet overpopulation problem is aggressive spay/neuter programs,” says Mazzina. “We are thrilled to have the support of the ASPCA and PetSmart Charities to open this groundbreaking training center for spay/neuter. We’re determined to overcome the tragedy of euthanasia, here in our community and all across the nation.”

About the Humane Alliance Founded in 1997, the Humane Alliance provides no to low-cost spay/neuter services to 39 animal agencies in 23 counties in Western North Carolina. The agency operates the National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT), a national mentoring and training program to help other organizations learn how to open and operate spay/neuter clinics in their communities. In June 2008, Humane Alliance opens the first-ever National Training Center for Spay/Neuter to expand their mentoring program and provide high-quality, high-volume surgical sterilization techniques that can increase an agency’s overall surgical capacity. For more information on how to open a nonprofit spay/neuter clinic in your community,
visit www.humanealliance.org. 

About the ASPCA® Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) was the first humane organization established in the Americas, and today has more than one million supporters throughout North America. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA provides local and national leadership in animal-assisted therapy, animal behavior, animal poison control, anti-cruelty, humane education, legislative services, and shelter outreach. The New York City headquarters houses a full-service, accredited animal hospital, adoption center, and mobile clinic outreach program. The Humane Law Enforcement department enforces New York’s animal cruelty laws and is featured on the reality television series “Animal Precinct” on Animal Planet. For more information, please visit www.aspca.org. 

About PetSmart Charities
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that creates and supports programs that save the lives of homeless pets, raise awareness of companion animal welfare issues, and promote healthy relationships between people and pets. Since 1994, PetSmart Charities has funded more than $70 million in grants and programs benefiting animal welfare organizations and, through its in-store pet adoption program, has helped save the lives of more than 3.3 million pets. PetSmart Charities also provides free educational opportunities via its Webinar program. To learn more about how PetSmart Charities is working to help find a lifelong, loving home for every pet, visitwww.petsmartcharities.org   or call 1-800-423-PETS. 

Donations to the Ryan Newman Foundation can be made online or mailed to:
Rosalie De Fini
Executive Director
Ryan Newman Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 5998
Statesville, NC 28687
TheRyan Newman Foundation is not accepting unsolicited grant proposals at this time. Please continue to check back for updated information on our grant making program. The Ryan Newman Foundation is unable to make grants directly to individuals or families. Please read the AutographPolicy if you have an autograph request. Thank you.