Chloe’s Cause
Adorable Chloe – since puppyhood – has participated in our annual Calendar Contest and raised money for Cascades Humane Society!
We recently interviewed Chloe’s mom, Amanda Casillo, about her participation—and wins—in the last three years of our annual Calendar Contest. Amanda, her husband Dan, and of course, Chloe, spend time raising money for Cascades Humane Society in other ways as well. (If you’re not familiar with the Calendar Contest, there is an explanation at the end of this article.)
“Dan and I have always enjoyed going to all of CHS’s fundraising events. I’m from Jackson, so I’ve known about the Cascades Humane Society for a long time. Three years ago we had just gotten a little retriever puppy and we saw on the CHS website the information about the calendar contest, so we made an appointment to get the puppy’s picture taken.” And that little puppy was Chloe. “Actually, her full name is Chloe Beyoncé Casillo.“
That first year Chloe participated in the Contest, she was featured on the December page of the 2019 CHS calendar. The next time she was March for the 2020 calendar. “I’m not sure what month Chloe will be featured in next year. I haven’t heard yet.”
Amanda noted that “The photographer—Carrie Stadelman of Freeland Photography—for the calendar contest does an amazing job taking photos. While you’re in there taking photos you’re thinking these photos are going to be terrible! My dog is acting crazy! But then you get to see the photos right away and pick what you want—and they’re all amazing.
One year I know Freeland Photography took some of the blooper pictures of Chloe and used them in a Facebook post to get more attention for the Calendar Contest. They were great!”
The Calendar Contest is a wonderful fundraiser for CHS, and each year we are amazed at how much our supporters are able to raise for our pets. “You know, Chloe works really hard at raising money for CHS. We always call it ‘Chloe’s Cause.’ And, of course, Chloe expects us to always go along with her ideas! I’m a middle school science teacher. For two years running—not this past year because of early school closures—Chloe—came up with the idea of penny wars in my classroom—that’s how a lot of money was raised for CHS.”
Amanda explained “Each class period I teach has a penny jar. The kids put pennies into their own jar, and then they put silver and dollars into the other classroom jars. Middle school kids can get really competitive. That first year I think we raised more than $500! Cascades Humane Society, as a reward to the winning class, brought puppies to the classroom. The kids loved it! We’ve also done can drives to raise money for CHS, but can’t this year due to the pandemic closure.”
Thanks, Chloe, and Amanda and Dan, for doing so much to help all the homeless animals at Cascades Humane Society!
How the Calendar Contest Works
Our annual calendar contest is a fundraiser that raises more than $25,000 for homeless pets in need. Carrie Stadelman of Freeland Photography generously donates her time and talents each year to help make this fundraiser a success.
Photos are taken in the spring and will be featured in next year’s printed calendar. Immediately following your photo session, you will select your favorite picture of your pet(s) to be entered into the contest. You will have an opportunity to order prints or digital images of any of the photos taken during the session.
After you have selected your favorite photo, CHS staff will walk you through the process of setting up your very own personal fundraising web page.
Photos to be used in the calendar months will be decided through a peer-to-peer style fundraiser online. The top 13 fundraisers will be featured in the month of their choice. In addition to full bragging rights, the top fundraiser will also be featured on the cover. The 13 photos that have raised the most money by a set time and date will be the winners!
No pet? You can still participate! You can sponsor a photo session for an adoptable CHS animal for $10 – let us know if you prefer to sponsor a cat or a dog… we will select an animal that has been at CHS looking for his or her forever home the longest! A professional photograph is a great asset for the animals patiently waiting at CHS to find their forever humans! This year, Christoff & Son’s sponsored 2 cats and 2 dogs.