Mars supports the cause of homeless pets

Mars, one of the world’s largest candy, chocolate, chewing gum, food and pet food manufacturers, recently organized a volunteer campaign with its employees to raise awareness of the importance of supporting animal shelters. The company has now summarized the ways in which they support the cause of homeless pets – their goal is to encourage both their consumers and other companies to join them.

Volunteering at animal shelters

This year, Mars contributed a total of more than 1,300 volunteer hours to support the communities belonging to the company in Central Europe. The company’s employees devoted more than 400 hours to volunteering in Hungary alone. As part of this, Mars, as an old partner of the Sirius Foundation animal shelter based in Érd, recently organized a volunteer day for its employees. During the day, Mars employees sacrificed their working hours to support the shelter by repainting one of the buildings.

“A shelter can be supported in many ways, and right now we are in great need of all kinds of help, not only financial, but also volunteer work hours, or simply spreading the word about our dogs waiting for a new home. In the current economic situation, we face new challenges: we see many people having to give up their pets, which puts us in a very difficult situation. That’s why we’re glad that the employees of Mars offered their time and energy to support the dogs here,” said Andrea Böjtös, president of the Sirius Foundation.

A pet-friendly office is part of the “new normal”.

Mars, whose portfolio includes popular dog food brands such as Pedigree and Cesar, has been at the forefront of introducing dog-friendly offices for more than a decade. Since the number of dog adoptions is showing an increasing trend due to the coronavirus epidemic, the company aims to set an example in the acceptance of small animals in offices, to promote the many advantages associated with this for the well-being of both dogs and employees, and thus pet-friendly offices become the new norm of office life. According to Mars’ experience, the presence of dogs has a positive effect on employees in several ways: not only do they feel calmer, but adoption is also seen as less of a challenge than if they had to leave their pets at home for a longer period of time. Mars’ Budapest office currently hosts at least four dogs on a regular basis, and the company hopes to increase their number in the future.

Staff support in pet adoption

In addition to the fact that Mars supports animal shelters, constantly educates its consumers about the benefits of adoption and promotes pet-friendly workplaces through its own example, the company is committed to supporting its employees – that’s how employees at Mars are referred to – in adoption through the Pedigree brand. This year, Mars employees who adopted a dog from a shelter received a whole year’s worth of Pedigree food for their new four-legged friend.

“Adoption comes with a lot of challenges, since we can’t always get to know our dog’s past and origin, which affects their personality and behavior. Shelters are a big help in the process, and I’m glad to see that Mars also supports new owners among the staff. The most important thing: when we adopt, we not only expand our own family, but we also save the life of a dog waiting for a home,” said Henrietta Szücs, an employee of Mars Hungary’s Activation Executive, owner of the recently adopted dog – Pingvin.

More information about Mars’ program to support dog-friendly places can be found on the Better Cities for Pets page.

More information on the work of the Sirius Foundation can be found at the following link: www.siriusalapitvany.hu