The main focus of the Penguins Foundation is to serve and support the youth in our region; but once a year, the Foundation reaches out beyond its main focus to score a huge assist for man’s best friend!
Each season, the Penguins & Paws charity pet calendar benefits a local animal shelter to support its life-saving mission of eliminating the homeless animal population in our region. Over the past two years, the calendar has benefitted the Animal Friends campus in the North Hills of Pittsburgh and has been sponsored by Penguins corporate partner Edgar Snyder & Associates.
For more than 75 years, Animal Friends has been saving, impacting, engaging, enriching and affecting the lives of the pets and people of our area. Since 1943, they have grown into a full-service companion animal welfare organization serving the pets and people of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area. With progressive programs, Animal Friends leads the way toward making our community a safer and more humane place.
One of the most popular charity projects among the players, team wives and girlfriends, and the Penguins Foundation staff, the Penguins & Paws calendar has generated tens of thousands of dollars over the years to help our furry friends.
First created in the early 1990s, its popularity has grown each year with fans across North America. In fact, the project had become so popular that at least a third of the NHL teams now publish a charity pet calendar with player photos to benefit their local shelters.
For the price of one Penguins & Paws calendar, Animal Friends can provide 80 meals to hungry pets through their Chow Wagon Pet Food Bank; shelter and care for a homeless animal for one day; provide antibiotics for an animal being treated for an infection; or provide a lifesaving vaccine for a pet whose owner is struggling to make ends meet.
The calendar is a unique publication as it offers fans a glimpse of the Penguins team away from the rink and features photos of the players, coaches and hockey operations personnel with their own family pets. In past years, the calendar typically featured the players posing with adoptable animals from the shelter; but due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, a photo shoot could not be scheduled.
A limited quantity of the 2021 Penguins & Paws charity pet calendars are still available at Animal Friends campus gift shop. To learn more about Animal Friends, visit thinkingoutsidethecage.org.
A look inside Animal Friends …
One of the animals that the calendar will benefit is a Lab mix named Frannie. She arrived at Animal Friends when her owner could no longer care for her. She is looking for an adult-only family who can provide her plenty of mental stimulation because she enjoys using her mind! She would prefer to be the only pet in the house so she can have all of your love to herself. Frannie likes to go on walks and take her time smelling along the way. She is patiently awaiting a forever home at Animal Friends.