Celebrate kindness by taking American Humane Association's Kindness 100 pledge

Via AmericanHumane.org - For generations of Americans, May has always been associated with kindness. Millions of people around the country young and old are joining American Humane Association to celebrate the start of the second century of "Be Kind to Animals Week" (May 1-7), the longest-running, most successful humane education campaign in American history.

This May, "Be Kind to Animals Week" takes on even more significance as American Humane Association commemorates 100 years of rescuing animals from cruelty and disasters.

American Humane Association's animal rescue services program was created in May 1916 at the request of the U.S. Secretary of War to save war horses on the battlefields of World War I Europe. Since then the organization has been involved in virtually every major disaster relief effort. Over just the past ten years American Humane Association has saved, helped and sheltered more than 80,000 animals.

To reach children and adults nationwide, American Humane Association invites everyone to visit www.Kindness100.org, where they can find a fascinating historical retrospective of "Be Kind to Animals Week," a series of pre-K-5 curricula to teach children the value of compassion, and a pledge with four things people can do to improve the lives of millions of animals.

American Humane Association is challenging 1 million people to take the "Be Kind to Animals Week" pledge online, which addresses four distinct areas: buying humanely raised products, protecting wild animals, protecting animal actors, and adopting from an animal shelter.

"The need for compassion has never been greater," said Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane Association. "As we enter a second century of working to rescue and care for our best friends, I hope every American will join us in celebrating 'Be Kind to Animals Week' – not just this week, but all year round."

To celebrate "Be Kind to Animals Week" 2016 and to learn more about how you can support American Humane Association's lifesaving, life-affirming animal rescue work please visit www.Kindness100.org.

American Humane Association is the country's first national humane organization, and the only one dedicated to protecting both children and animals. With an unparalleled reach and scope, the organization positively touches more than 42,000 lives each minute through effective, life-affirming, life-saving services and public outreach.

Since 1877, American Humane Association has been at the forefront of virtually every major advance in protecting our most vulnerable from cruelty, abuse and neglect. Today it is leading the way in understanding the human-animal bond and its role in therapy, medicine and society.

American Humane Association reaches millions of people every day through groundbreaking research, education, training and services that span a wide network of organizations, agencies and businesses. To learn more, visit American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org.