During National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week Nov. 2 to 8, nearly 400 people took part in Friends of DuPage County Animal Care and Control’s second annual Take the Challenge competition.

The competition encouraged participants to use their imaginations and talents to raise funds to help the homeless and unwanted pets of DuPage County Animal Care and Control. The winners were selected by the Friends of DCACC board of directors who reviewed all Take the Challenge entries. 

The winner in the “most amount raised” category is the office of DuPage County Circuit Court Clerk Chris Kachiroubas, which raised  $1,521.03 by hosting inter-departmental “penny wars.”

The award for “most amount raised per individual in a group” goes to sixth graders Marina Magnelli, Olivia Hacker and Erika Netzer. The girls hosted a bake sale featuring baked goods which the girls made themselves.  Their bake sale raised more than $300.

The “most creative method of fundraising” category was expanded this year to include a class for adults and children.

The winners of the children’s class are the students of Medinah Primary School, who worked together as a team to collect donations in each classroom throughout National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week and hosted lunchtime lemonade stands to raise funds for the animals.

The winners in the adult class are Olivia Molof and Wendy Molof, who hosted a dog-treat sale featuring homemade dog treats made from a recipe included in the fall DCACC newsletter, along with Buck-a-Bag Bagel Bones, which they purchased at cost from Great American Bagel Company.

Winners will be honored through shelter animal visits to their facilities and recognition at the annual DCACC Volunteer Awards Reception.

Programs and projects funded by Friends of DCACC to-date include: the purchase of a state of the art heated v-shaped surgical table and pulse oxymeter for the shelter’s surgery room; subsidized cat and kitten adoptions; subsidized adoptions for senior dogs and cats; subsidized adoptions for bonded animal pairs; and the establishment of a critical-care fund to provide care and treatment for animals with curable illnesses that would otherwise be euthanized.