Harbor Hounds Charity Dog Walk - September 14

As we approach the 11th Annual Harbor Hounds Charity Dog Walk in beautiful Gig Harbor, WA, I find that many people in our community have heard about Harbor Hounds, but not too many people are aware of what Harbor Hounds is really all about. 

Yes, Harbor Hounds is a community celebration of the relationships and love we share with our pets, but it is much more than that.  At its core, Harbor Hounds is a charity fund raising event with all proceeds going to charities and projects supported by the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor Midday.  Over the years, the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor Midday has decided to concentrate our fund raising activities on two main, community centric events: Harbor Hounds and Golferittaville.  Whereas, years ago, Midday Rotary used to have many fund raising events with one or two beneficiaries for each event, we have learned that by focusing on our two most popular and successful events, we could realize a much better return on our time and capital investments, thus providing more funds to our select charities.  This is why today, funds collected through Harbor Hounds are used to benefit much more than our terrific pet related charities and non-profit organizations. 

Each year, the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor Midday evaluates all the various requests that we receive for charitable contributions and decide which charities we will support for the coming year.  Most of the charities that we support tend to be the same from year to year, but there are some charities that are one-time requests and some charities that are added and/or dropped over time.  One constant for Harbor Hounds, however, is our continuing support for the Prison Pet Partnership! 

So, who benefits from Harbor Hounds?  Besides Prison Pet Partnership, funds collected from both Harbor Hounds and Golferittaville have helped support: Local area Food Banks; BackPack Brigade; Scholarships for exceptional, local high school students; Foreign Exchange students (coming and going); the Gig Harbor High School Interact Club; Courage Classic; Harbor History Museum; Rotary Polio Plus; Construction of a hydrotherapy pool for polio victims at the Cheshire House in Ethiopia through the Denny Wilford Foundation; and, others. 

Where do the funds come from?  Harbor Hounds collects funds through two sources: our Sponsors and Registered Walkers.  

Sponsors can contribute to Harbor Hounds in many ways.  Organizations can be participating sponsors with a presence at Harbor Hounds through booth space at either of our two walk end-points.  (Due to the construction that will be continuing at Donkey Creek Park during this year’s walk, the two end-points will be Skansie Brothers Park and Eddon Boat Park.)  Companies can also sponsor one of four watering holes along the walk.  Or, if you want, you can be a Branding Sponsor and have your company’s name and logo displayed on one of our many give-away items.  You can also be a non-participating sponsor by sponsoring a dog that will wear a sign with your company’s name displayed during the walk.  We also welcome in-kind sponsors that contribute product, services and/or funds directly in support of Harbor Hounds administrative overhead.

This year, Harbor Hounds is happy to announce that we have secured a Presenting Sponsor in our friends at New Tacoma Cemeteries and Funeral Home and Chambers Creek Pet Memorial Park. 

There are still many sponsorship opportunities available.  This is a great way to meet many possible new customers and to support some wonderful charities.  Please visit our website for more information.

Registered Walkers are the individuals and their dogs who participate on the walk itself.  Registering Walkers receive a Walk T-Shirt; Bandanna for their dog; Wag Bag full of sponsor give-aways and coupons; and, entry into a Harbor Hounds raffle.  Raffle Entries must be stamped at each end-point in the walk to be eligible for the raffle prizes.  This is how we put the “walk” into the charity walk. 

This year’s Harbor Hounds Charity Dog Walk will be held on Saturday, September 14 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm.  That day is full of fun and entertainment.  Besides all of the interesting sponsor booths at each end-point, Harbor Hounds also includes a fun contest held at 2:00 pm and other entertainment options that we are still working on securing.  Our contests include: Best Dressed Dog; Best Tricks; Best Kisser (the dog!); Best Tail Wagger; Best Bark; and a fun Musical Stop and Sit Contest.  

But, best of all, you get to mingle with other dog lovers from all around the Puget Sound area and beyond and, at the same time, contribute to some wonderful charities and community projects. 

For more information about Harbor Hounds and how you can become a sponsor, please visit our website at www.harborhounds.com and/or come visit our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Harbor-Hounds/208308170109?ref=hl 

For more information about the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor Midday, please visit, http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Home.aspx?cid=793 

For more information about Prison Pet partnership, please visit, http://www.prisonpetpartnership.org/ 

For more information about New Tacoma Cemeteries and Funeral Home, please visit, http://www.newtacoma.com/ 

If you have any questions concerning Harbor Hounds, please let us know through the contact information on our website.    We hope to see all of you at this year’s Harbor Hounds Charity Dog Walk.