Building a brighter future for animal welfare.

OVERVIEW

Impacts

INVESTORS

LEADERSHIP

CONTACT

Join the Humane Society of Summit County as we proudly embark on a Capital Campaign to construct a state-of-the-art, purpose-built shelter and adoption center that will transform animal welfare in our community.

Our new home will serve animals and people in ways never before possible, making Summit County a more compassionate and humane place for animals and the people who care for them.

 

A centrally located destination

Better pet health and reduced length of stay

Meets modern standards for sheltering

Top quality visitor and adopter experience

Improve community outreach and education

Extending beyond the shelter and communities

Project Overview

serving pets and the people who love them

Envision a bright, welcoming space that celebrates pets around every corner. Our purpose-built, animal-centered facility will provide a therapeutic environment where animals can heal and thrive. The adoption center will welcome community members to interact with animals, engage with our mission, and find their new best friend.   

Convenient location

  • Located in the heart of Summit County, our new facility will be easily accessible and more central to the animals and people we serve – a convenient destination for volunteers, adopters, and the community.
  • Our new campus will be located in a highly-visible area poised for future growth, increasing awareness for animal rescue and adoption.

State of the art sheltering

  • Low-stress, fear-free housing environments to promote and protect pet health. For dogs this includes larger kennels not facing eachother, grouped in multiple small “pods”. For cats, spacious enclosures with visibility to the outdoors and group living spaces for social felines.
  • Dedicated separate entrances for adopting and animal intake to better serve a variety of needs of our community.
  • Expanded and improved veterinary clinic that meets modern standards of practice and provides the tools needed to treat the complex conditions of our rescue population.
  • Abundant natural light and specialized environmental controls to increase comfort, cleanliness, and energy efficiency in both animal housing and public-facing spaces.
  • Dedicated spaces for programmatic efforts that keep animals in homes: educational classrooms, spaces needed for pet food distribution and public veterinary services through the MABEL mobile vet, dog behavior training facilities, and private meet-and-greet spaces.
  • Outdoor areas including play yards, gardens, and wooded walking trails to offer ample enrichment and engagement opportunities for dogs.

Impacts

Helping every animal live their best life

  • Modern animal housing will help animals heal and recover quickly, experience fewer behavior issues, and remain healthy during thier stay – reducing the amount of time care.
  • Lower-stress and increased enrichment opportunities will better prepare animals for life in a home.
  • Larger, quieter animal environments and public-friendly facility will promote adoptions.
  • Reducing the amount of time an animal is in care, by as much as 50% from current statistics, will result in the capacity to serve more animals.

Helping staff and volunteers do their best work

  • Safer animal handling and interaction experiences for staff and volunteers.
  • A purpose-built shelter will offer a healthy, sanitary work environment.
  • Better efficiency will improve stewardship of resources and time staff and volunteers spend with animals.

Helping animal lovers have the very best experience

  • Easily accessible location to adopters and volunteers throughout Summit County.
  • Potential adopters will engage with and learn about adoptable animals in a low-stress, welcoming environment.
  • Volunteers and visitors will have ample space to interact with animals indoors and outdoors and support our mission through increased community engagement opportunities.
  • A new depth of programs will support pet owners and the public, providing necessary services accessibly – helping pet owners retain pets and community members to be advocates for the mission of animal welfare.

The Animals We serve

Ace

Ace

SuccesS StoriesAce Ace is one of those dogs that needs a little more care, compassion, and time to find his forever family. A current resident of the Humane Society of Summit County, Ace is about 3 years old and has been in the shelter for half his life. He arrived...

Gizmo

Gizmo

SuccesS StoriesGizmo Gizmo is one of thousands of cats served each year by the Humane Society of Summit County. Gizmo arrived at HSSC after the unfortunate death of his owner. The shock of the new environment shut him down. He refused to eat and he hid under a cat bed...

Your support

A local, 501(c)3 nonprofit, The Humane Society of Summit County depends on the generous support of our community to save thousands of animals each year and provide them hope through adoption in keeping with our lifesaving mission. The new Humane Society facility will be possible only through the investment of generous donors, like you.

Gifts of all sizes are gratefully accepted with giving terms of up to five (5) years. Naming and other recognition opportunities are available for gifts of $10,000 and more.

Contact

Diane Johnson-Owens
President/CEO
[email protected]
(234) 212-9708

Louise DiLullo, MPA, CFRE
Director of Capital Campaign and Major Gifts
[email protected]
(234) 212-9749

Partners in a Better future

We are deeply grateful to our partners and contributors who have made gifts to make this transformational animal welfare facility possible for Summit County. Together, we make possible a community that is safer and more compassionate for pets and the people who love them.

Cynthia Knight
The Cynthia Parker Matthews Family Foundation
The Remen Family Foundation
Richard Viering

Anonymous (2)
The Andreoli Family
Steve and Betsy Bagstad
Lynne Dougherty
The Fowler Family
The Arthur E., Elsie G. and Betty M. Kranz Family Foundation and The Jean, Harry and Brenda Fuchs Family Foundation

Tom and Ginny Knoll
Marci Matthews
Michael and Lynette Panno
Richard Siess
Cindy Slezak
J.M. Smucker Co.
Judge Mary F. Spicer
Dianne Powers Wright

Cindy and Nick Browning
Joleen, Sara, and Anna Cicchinelli
Larry and Lisa Dean
Adam Ekonomon
The Fair Family
The Foskett Family
Ron and Dawn Hartman
Rick and Amy Held
W. Todd and Laura Kiick
Judy Steiner and John Krajewski
The Lehner Family Foundation
Philip and Margaret McDowell Lloyd

Fred Martin Superstore
Kristen and Scott Manes
David Mansfield and Cindy Candau 
The McMillen Family Foundation
The Charles and Mabel Ritchie Foundation
Jim Sebastian
Katie and Dave Sutter
Brian Steere
Dr. Kurt Stemple 
Diane and Bret Treier
Patrick Weschler

Dennis and Theresa Balogh
Rhea Batemen
Matthew and Stefanie Blewitt
Megan Bobula
Rex and Leslie Carper
Donae Ceja
Steve Cox
Erin and Eren Demiray
Louise DiLullo
Brenda Ehrhardt
Brenda Esposito
Terry and Jeannie Haines

The Haws-Falasco Family
Mary Hanley
Diedre Hanlon & Ron George
Jean Henshaw
Greg and Karen Hogan
Nora Jacobs and George Snider
Donna Jennings
Alice and Mike Jeromin
Diane Johnson-Owens
Bob Kulow
Diane and Brian Lawhead

Phillip and Abby Lewandowski
The Maynard Family Foundation
Kevin Michael McCauley
Susan McCausland
Mary Kate Mead
Shirley Mulvaney
Karen Ormsby
Sue and Dick Pierson
Scott Read
Jeff and Missy Wert
Pat Zeigler

 

Anonymous (2)
Bruce and Janice Bach
Janet Bartlett
Barbara Beller
Nicole Benden
Brase Family Fund
Cynthia and Andrew Burr
Mimi Chiamenti

Kelly Clark
Marcel Clopton
Mary Cochran
Donna and Larry Connelly
Jim and Ann Durr
Jean Grau
Catherine and Steven Hedlund

Lisa Hibbs
Karen Kipfstuhl
Robert Kulow
Bill Lowery
Steve and Jeannine Marks
Nevin Nussbaum
Carolyn Orris
Penny Parker

David and Debra Petersilge
Dan and Wendy Reynolds
Karen Schofield
Marsha Selover
Catherine Smith
Lori Stenger
Charles and April Walton
Valerie Wawrin

Leadership

Campaign Cabinet Leaders

Rennick Andreoli

Kerri L. T. Bowman, DVM

Nick and Cindy Browning

Jeff & Stephanie Fowler

Amy Held

John Krajewski & Judy Steiner

Marci Matthews

Judge Mary F. Spicer, Retired

Diane & Bret Treier

Richard Viering

Humane Society of Summit County Board of Directors

Diane Treier
Chair
Retired, Akron Public Schools

Joleen Cicchinelli
Vice Chair
Retired, The Huntington National Bank

Nicole Benden
Treasurer
Cohen & Company

Dan Reynolds
Secretary
Akron Rotary Camp

Matthew Blewitt
Maloney-Novotny, LLC 

Megan Bobula
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

Cindy Browning
Retired, Summa Home Care

Marcel Clopton

Steve Cox
Roetzel & Andress, LPA

Gary Gardner
Cedarwood Development, Inc.

Amy Held
J.M. Smucker Company

Lisa Hibbs
The Huntington National Bank

Barb Reece
Lexis Nexis

Judge Mary F. Spicer
Retired, Summit County Court of Common Pleas

Judy Steiner
Past Chair
Retired, Banner Bank

Katie Sutter
Excelsior Marking

Valerie Wawrin
D’Amico Wawrin & Company CPAs, LLC