Images courtesy of Sarah AuseThe perfect house party for animal lovers? Mix one part Best Friends 25th anniversary and one part “DogTown” with one part you, your friends and family.
We call it “Party for a Purpose.”
Help us celebrate our anniversary all year long by spreading the word about the good work Best Friends does for the animals and enlisting the help of everyone who shares our goal of No More Homeless Pets.
There are a number of themes for parties you can host, including those built around watching episodes of the National Geographic Channel’s “DogTown.” New episodes begin March 20.
The “DogTown” party includes the opportunity to join a free webinar with members of Best Friends’ Dogtown staff. It's your chance to get answers to all those questions you’ve been eager to ask. There are a limited number of slots available, so act fast.
The first 25 members who sign up to host a Party for a Purpose and join the webinar will receive an autographed copy of the “Best Friends Dogtown” hardcover book, signed by the Best Friends staffers who appear in the series.
Check out our Party for a Purpose page on our anniversary website for more themes as well as helpful hints and ideas that make it simple to plan a house party.
By registering your party on the site, you’ll receive a gift bag from Best Friends that includes a silver planner, Best Friends DVDs and thank-you gifts for your guests who sign up to become members.
And for every 25 members who join Best Friends through your house party, you’ll receive a sterling silver 25th anniversary wine charm set made exclusively for the Party for a Purpose program.
Best Friends’ Lisa Ladd is managing the program.
“I’m a born partier and entertainer,” she says. “And I love introducing people to Best Friends. Given my personality and love of Best Friends, it’s a perfect fit. I’m thrilled to be managing the house parties.”
Chicagoan Yvette Pina was ahead of the entertaining curve: She hosted a house party to celebrate each episode during the premiere season of “DogTown.”
A longtime member of Best Friends, an active participant in Best Friends Network’s Chicago community and a companion to former Best Friends sanctuary dog Dundee Boy, Yvette never needs much prodding to celebrate anything animal-related. She invited her network friends to her parties, where all snacks were served from dog bowls.
“I would have watched the series on my own anyway,” she says. “But there’s something to be said about the camaraderie of watching the show with friends.”
Or with a friend she’d never met before.
Yvette keeps a running blog on Dundee Boy, who has quite a following. One of his biggest cyber fans is Catherine, a Best Friends member from California. As luck would have it, she was in Chicago on business when one of the “DogTown” episodes aired. Yvette picked her up at O’Hare airport and drove her back to her house to party with her and her friends.
Catherine was already a friend even though we had never met in person,” says Yvette. “As Best Friends members, we all have the love of animals in common. It’s a pretty strong foundation to build any relationship.”
Parties for a purpose can be as simple or as lavish as you want to make them, but no matter how you do it, they’ll always be fun. And best of all, in the end, it’s the animals who wind up with the best party favors of all: forever homes.
To register for your Party for a Purpose and read about party themes, helpful hosting hints and more, visit the party page.
Photos by Best Friends staff
As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership, so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.