New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Three-time GRAMMY Award-winning Country superstar
Miranda Lambert's MuttNation Foundation and Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO), the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States, teamed up for the third consecutive year to donate more than $250,000 to animal shelters across the nation. Through MuttNation's Mutts Across
America program, one outstanding shelter or foster-based rescue in every state - plus Washington, D.C. and a "
Wildcard" pick - are being honored with a surprise $5,000 grant.
"Finding deserving shelters and rescue groups across the country is easy," said Bev Lambert, Miranda's mother and co-founder of MuttNation, who also conceived Mutts Across America. "It's narrowing it down to just one in each state that's really tough."
"Mutts Across
America is MuttNation's cornerstone - it was our first signature program," added Miranda. "These grants give us the chance to show our appreciation and spotlight shelters across the country for their hard work, year-round, to improve the lives of shelter pets. We're so proud to partner with Tractor Supply on this and other programs, allowing us to elevate our goals and increase the number of animals' lives we can change."
Since the initiative's origin nine years ago, MuttNation's Mutts Across
America has supported more than 450 shelters with over $1.75 million in grants. Tractor Supply began partnering with MuttNation in 2021.
"Shelter pets have our hearts at Tractor Supply," stated Kimberley Gardiner, chief marketing officer at Tractor Supply. "Miranda's passion for this cause and the work she has done through MuttNation truly inspire us and supporting their work is a privilege and joy. These shelters are saving the lives of animals and pets and providing the care they need as they wait for their future owners."
Each year, MuttNation conducts extensive research to carefully choose the organizations that will be honored with the annual grants and, this year, is specifically recognizing some of the outstanding shelters that help seniors, special needs dogs, large dogs and pit mixes; the "Love Harder" dogs that are easy to love but hardest to get adopted. There is no application process for Mutts Across America, and the recipients are given no advance notice before receiving the award.
In addition to the Mutts Across
America partnership, MuttNation and Tractor Supply started the Relief For Rescues Fund earlier this year to help shelters and shelter pets recover from natural disasters. To date, the fund has generated over $357,000 to support shelter animals affected by disasters such as floods, fires, hurricanes and tornadoes, with funding already dispersed to organizations responding to shelter pets impacted by severe flooding in California's Central Valley, a violent EF4 tornado in Mississippi and more.
Tractor Supply is the exclusive retailer of MuttNation pet products, with a percentage of all sales going to the MuttNation Foundation to promote and facilitate its mission.
The 2023 Mutts Across
America grant recipients are:
Shelter Name State
Aide for Animals Sanctuary Alabama
Juneau Animal Rescue Alaska
Unconditional Love Pet Rescue (ULPR) Arkansas
NAGI Foundation Arizona
Animal Compassion Team of California California
Soul Dog Rescue Colorado
Army's Legacy Animal Rescue and Sanctuary Connecticut
Rural Dog Rescue DC
Humane Animal Partners Deleware
UFAR Animal Parnters Florida
Homeward Bound Pet Rescue Georgia
The Hawaii SPCA Maili Waianae Hawaii
Heart of Idaho Animal Sanctuary Idaho
Second City Canine Rescue Illinois
Grateful Rescue and Sanctuary (Grateful Rescue) Indiana
Dogs Forever of Iowa (Dogs Forever) Iowa
Clay County Animal Rescue & Education Center Kansas
LIFE House for Animals Kentucky
4 Paws Rescue Inc. Louisiana
Underhound Railroad, Inc. Maine
Senior Dog Sanctuary Maryland
Cape Ann Animal Aid
Christopher Cutler Rich Animal Shelter Massachusetts
K9 Stray Rescue League Michigan
Great River Rescue Minnesota
HoofBeats and PawPrints Rescue Mississippi
Columbia Second Chance Missouri
The Dedman Foundation Montana
FurEver Home, Inc. Nebraska
Hearts Alive Village Nevada
Second Chance Ranch Rescue NH New Hampshire
Marty's Place Senior Dog Sanctuary, INC New Jersey
Pet-A-Bulls, Inc. New Mexico
Paws Crossed Animal Rescue New York
Lake Norman
Humane North Carolina
Prairie Paws Rescue North Dakota
Multiple Breed Rescue Ohio
Oklahoma Alliance for Animals Oklahoma
Southern Oregon
Humane Society Oregon
Speranza Animal Rescue Pennsylvania
Anchor Paws Rescue Rhode Island
Pet Helpers Adoption Shelter and Spay/Neuter Clinic South Carolina
B-Squad Dog Rescue South Dakota
New Leash on Life Tennessee
Dog Ranch Rescue Texas
Hearts 4 Paws Rescue Utah
Homeward Bound , Addison County's
Humane Society Vermont
Wolf Trap Animal Rescue Virginia
Old Dog
Haven Washington
Humane Society of Harrison County- WV West Virginia
Bob's House for Dogs Wisconsin
Laramie Peak
Humane Society Wyoming
Bonaparte's Retreat Dog Rescue *WILDCARD*
Already a decorated songwriter, Academy of Country
Music Entertainer of the Year, passionate shelter animal advocate, restaurateur and business woman, superstar
Miranda Lambert adds New York Times best-selling author to her impressive list of titles with the arrival of her debut book, "Y'all Eat Yet?," available everywhere now.
Palomino, her eighth solo album, arrived in 2022 as the largest female Country album debut of the year and earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album. Named among the best of the year by the New York Times, TIME, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, People and many more, it marks the latest installment in a storied career that has spanned seven previous No. 1 solo albums, 11 No. 1 hit radio singles, more than 70 prestigious awards and countless sales certifications, earning the most-awarded artist in ACM history praise from NPR as "the most riveting country star of her generation."
With her headlining
Velvet Rodeo Las
Vegas residency extended through late 2023 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino's Bakkt Theater, the top streaming female Country artist of 2022 was also named to the TIME100 list honoring the world's most influential people, with Pitchfork declaring that she "manages the hat-trick of both timelessness and timely activism." Whether challenging conventional gender notions in her recent Top 10 hit "If I Was A Cowboy" or using her voice to write and record the inclusive "Y'All Means All" anthem for Netflix's "Queer Eye," the
Texas native continues to expand the tent of the Country genre via her music, including with her latest release, the cross-genre collaboration "
If You Were Mine" with Leon Bridges.
Idyllwind, her clothing and cowboy boot collection, is an exclusive brand sold at all Boot Barn stores nationwide, while her home goods collection,
Wanda June Home, is available exclusively at Walmart. She is also the first female artist to have her own venue on Broadway in Nashville with her Casa Rosa Tex-Mex cantina. An avid animal lover, Lambert's MuttNation pet product line is available exclusively at Tractor Supply Co. with proceeds benefitting her MuttNation Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit that has raised over $8 million since its inception in 2009. The Foundation's mission is to promote the adoption of rescue pets, support animal shelters across the country, advance spay & neuter and assist with the transport of animals during times of natural disaster.
