Press Release

December 27, 2006

For Immediate Release

Urbana , IL

Most people don’t think of their faithful family pet as a provider but one Champaign kitty is definitely pulling her own weight. Sammy, the ten year old feline friend of Jim Hays, heard opportunity knock and she answered the door! Sammy recently won a video contest put on by Freedomtales.com and brought home a grand prize of $5,000 for her guardians, who rescued her from a snowy parking lot in Wisconsin when she was just a kitten.

When Sammy was a kitten, she stayed in the family’s laundry room overnight but learned in very short order how to open the door herself. Sammy’s family was amazed that every time that she was in the laundry room, she would be out and running around the house in a matter of minutes. Finally, the Hays decided that they had to see her skill for themselves and set up a video camera to capture her “at work”.

When the Hays saw that Sammy was jumping up and opening the door from the inside, they decided that this video was just too amazing to keep to themselves. After some prompting, Jim entered the video in a contest to win an advertising contract with a Colorado company and a grand prize of $5,000. In October, Hays received a call and was told that he had won the whole ball of yarn.

In the end, the company decided not to continue with the commercial campaign but Jim still received the $5,000 grand prize and as an added bonus, he was informed that $1,000 would also be donated to the animal charity of his choice. Jim immediately thought of the Champaign County Humane Society as Sammy herself was a rescued pet.

Jason Smith, Executive Director of the humane society was pleasantly surprised at the news of Mr. Hays generosity, “All of our furry friends are special in their own right. Some of them just have the ability to turn that into cash. Sammy and Jim have done a great service to the thousands of other “Sammys” that the humane society houses and adopts each year.”

CCHS, incorporated in 1951 by a diverse group of local citizens who cared deeply about animals, is not a government body and is not supported by tax dollars. CCHS is an "open door" shelter and accepts all animals needing shelter, regardless of age, physical condition, or adoptability. As a local, not-for-profit charity, CCHS exists through the generosity of many individuals and businesses and is supported by a community that cares.

For more information contact:
Executive Director
Champaign County Humane Society
1911 E. Main St .
Urbana , IL 61802
217-344-7297
www.cuhumane.org