Pet Valu's 2025 Companions for Change(TM) Fundraising Initiatives Exceed $4.3 Million
MWN-AI** Summary
Pet Valu, a leading Canadian specialty retailer focused on pet food and supplies, announced significant philanthropic success through its Companions for Change(TM) initiative. In 2025 alone, the program raised over $4.3 million in cash and product donations for animal organizations across Canada, surpassing the previous year's record. Since its inception in 2010, Companions for Change has amassed nearly $37 million, all of which benefits animal rescues, shelters, and charities.
In response to natural disasters that displaced thousands of pets this year, the program quickly mobilized to support affected individuals and organizations by providing critical pet essentials. Notable recipients of emergency supplies included the Animal Food Bank and the Canadian Disaster Animal Response Team, among others.
In addition to emergency support, Pet Valu’s sponsorship efforts are directed towards empowering animal organizations to undertake larger capital projects. In 2025, the company allocated over $450,000 to various sponsorships, which included essential mobile transport units for organizations across the country, aiding their operational capabilities.
The company also actively collaborates with the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, sponsoring events that support the training and placement of service dogs for Canadians with disabilities. This year, they continued to provide food for training dogs and supported over 20 Dog Guides teams.
The funds raised primarily come from diverse initiatives such as Pet Appreciation Month and Companions for Change month, where customers contribute through purchases and donations. In 2025, Pet Appreciation Month achieved record donations exceeding $2.3 million. For those looking to assist during the holiday season, Pet Valu offers a "give-what-you-can" calendar, furthering community support for animals in need.
MWN-AI** Analysis
Pet Valu's impressive achievement of raising over $4.3 million through its Companions for Change program in 2025 signals not only a robust corporate social responsibility commitment but also a strategic enhancement of its brand reputation and market position. This philanthropic initiative, which has amassed nearly $37 million since its inception in 2010, exemplifies how successful alignment of business objectives with community welfare can yield dividends in consumer loyalty and brand affinity.
The recent fundraising activities, particularly during Pet Appreciation Month and Companions for Change month, have demonstrated a successful engagement with a growing demographic of socially-conscious consumers. The incorporation of giving mechanisms, such as rounding up purchases and product-specific donations, represents a savvy way to integrate philanthropy into daily transactions, thus creating a seamless shopping experience that encourages customer participation.
Furthermore, Pet Valu's strategic sponsorships of capital projects for animal organizations, such as mobile vet clinics and transport units, provide tangible benefits to local communities. This not only amplifies Pet Valu's role as a community pillar but also enhances its positioning against competitors in the pet retail space who may lack such initiatives.
As investors look ahead, focusing on Pet Valu’s sustained growth in charitable contributions could be a key indicator of brand loyalty and customer satisfaction, essential metrics as they pertain to customer retention and revenue stability. The ongoing support from franchisees and corporate teams reflects a committed, engaged workforce likely to drive operational success.
Investing in Pet Valu could be considered a strong opportunity given its proven ability to intertwine social responsibility with business growth. Firms in the pet retail sector that prioritize community engagement and welfare initiatives, as evidenced by Pet Valu's model, are likely to resonate well with today's consumers and solidify long-term market presence.
**MWN-AI Summary and Analysis is based on asking OpenAI to summarize and analyze this news release.
MARKHAM, Ontario, Dec. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pet Valu, the leading Canadian specialty retailer of pet food and pet-related supplies, proudly announced today that its philanthropic program, Companions for Change, has received more than $4.3 million in monetary and product donations so far in 2025 for Canadian animal organizations.
“We’re very grateful to our devoted pet lovers, franchisees, corporate store teams and vendors whose generosity helped us surpass last year’s record-breaking results. Thanks to their ongoing support, the Companions for Change program has collected almost $37 million since 2010, one hundred per cent of which is distributed to Canadian animal rescues, shelters and charities,” says Tanbir Grover, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer at Pet Valu. “We’re very proud that we’re able to make a meaningful difference to hundreds of Canadian animal rescues, shelters and charities.”
As wildfires and floods displaced thousands of Canadians and their pets this year, the Companions for Change program stepped in to donate much needed pet essentials such as food, litter, bowls, collars, leashes and crates to animal organizations that were providing on-the-ground assistance to evacuated animals and their devoted pet lovers. Animal Food Bank, Canadian Disaster Animal Response Team (CDART), Steinbach Animal Rescue and the Ontario SPCA each received emergency donations. The Niagara SPCA received an emergency product donation to assist with an unexpected, larger than usual, cat intake.
With the goal of leveraging its scale to make meaningful impact, since 2018, Companions for Change sponsorships have been helping worthy Canadian animal organizations fund larger capital projects. In 2025, Pet Valu committed more than $450,000 to sponsorships, including three mobile units: a mobile vet clinic for Coastal Animal Rescue & Education (“CARE”) Network Society on Vancouver Island, a transport bus for Just Four Paws Rescue Society in lower mainland British Columbia, and a transport van for Restigouche County SPCA (“RC SPCA”) in New Brunswick.
Pet Valu is a longtime supporter and sponsor of Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides (“Dog Guides”). In May, it sponsored the Pet Valu Walk for Dog Guides, Dog Guides’ annual fundraising walk which helps the organization continue to raise, train and place Dog Guides for Canadians living with disabilities at no cost to them. The Companions for Change program also continued to sponsor Dog Guides Feeding Program, providing Performatrin Ultra ® and Performatrin Prime ® food and treats to approximately 200 puppies and dogs in training. Additionally, this year, the Companions for Change program is sponsoring over 20 additional Dog Guides teams.
“As a proudly Canadian, proudly local pet retailer with stores in hundreds of communities across Canada, we’ve seen firsthand how vital local animal organizations are for giving homeless pets a second chance,” says Grover. “In addition to providing donations, our stores work closely with animal rescues in their communities to help find forever homes for pets through in-store adoption events. Since 2010, we’ve helped find fur-ever homes for more than 53,000 homeless pets including over 1,500 this year.”
Donations raised through the Companions for Change program originate from multiple fundraising initiatives hosted by Pet Valu and its franchisees. These include Pet Appreciation Month in June and Companions for Change month in October, during which devoted pet lovers contribute by purchasing PAWS, making custom donations and rounding up their purchases at checkout. This year, Pet Appreciation Month raised over $2.3 million in monetary and product donations, its highest donations to date. Pet Valu and its franchisees also provide additional support by donating $1 per item on the sale of select Performatrin ® and Fresh 4 Life ® products in October. Devoted pet lovers who are looking for ways to help pets in need during the holiday season can pick up the annual Companions for Change “give-what-you-can” calendar from all Pet Valu stores, outside of Quebec, for a “give-what-you-can” donation. All proceeds go towards the Companions for Change program.
To learn more, please visit: petvalu.ca/companionsforchange or Companions for Change - YouTube .
About Pet Valu
Pet Valu is Canada’s leading retailer of pet food and pet-related supplies with over 800 corporate-owned or franchised locations across the country. For more than 45 years, Pet Valu has earned the trust and loyalty of pet parents by offering knowledgeable customer service, an extensive product offering and engaging in-store services. Through its local neighbourhood stores and digital platform, Pet Valu offers more than 10,000 competitively-priced products, including a broad assortment of exclusive, holistic and award-winning proprietary brands. The Company is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, and has distribution centres in Brampton, Ontario, Surrey, British Columbia and Calgary, Alberta. Its shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: PET ). To learn more, please visit: www.petvalu.ca .
MEDIA CONTACT:
For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Katherine Clark
katherine@beaconcommunications.ca
416-453-3288
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/835dcc69-ff2d-4dca-99c1-8e369ba60347
FAQ**
How has Pet Valu's philanthropic initiatives, such as the Companions for Change program, impacted the brand's reputation and customer loyalty among pet owners in Canada, especially in light of the $4.3 million in donations in 2025?
Given the recent emergency donations to organizations like the Ontario SPCA, how does Pet Valu Holdings Ltd. PET:CC assess the effectiveness of its support during natural disasters in helping displaced pets and pet owners?
Can you elaborate on the long-term strategic goals of the Companions for Change program for Pet Valu Holdings Ltd. PET:CC, especially in terms of funding larger capital projects for Canadian animal organizations?
With the success of Pet Appreciation Month raising over $2.3 million, how does Pet Valu Holdings Ltd. PET:CC plan to further engage and mobilize its community of pet lovers for future fundraising initiatives?
**MWN-AI FAQ is based on asking OpenAI questions about Pet Valu Holdings Ltd. (TSXC: PET:CC).
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