For the 3rd year in a row Philadoptables has been part of the 6abc Dunkin Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade.  We believe in helping the community as much as we can, the homeless animals in Philadelphia’s animal control shelter ACCT Philly are our focus, but we also want to be a part of the City of Philadelphia, and this is our way of giving back. There’s nothing exciting about getting up early in the morning, whether it’s to help blow up the balloons, or whether it’s to arrive a little bit later and line up to walk in the parade as a balloon handler. What is exciting, is to see the looks on the kids faces as they see the big balloons, they are filled with excitement. It’s so much fun to see them as they wait for the big man in the red suit to arrive.  We hear “spin it, spin it” all along the route. Our founder and president, Michelle was featured on the parade commercials leading up to the parade and we were all asked “Was that Michelle on TV?”  many times!  Three members of our board walked in the parade,  Michelle, John and Marta.

When it comes to celebrating Independence Day, no other city can do it like Philadelphia. On July 4th, Philadoptables had the pleasure of joining the WAWA Welcome America! Parade – one of the biggest celebrations in the country. Along with marching bands, floats, military groups and performance teams, Philadoptables marched through the historical part of the city to help Philadelphia celebrate America. Philadoptables was asked to carry the Betsy Ross flag- a huge flag that needed 10 people just to make sure it never touches the ground. Not only did the Philadoptables board members and friends have fun taking part in the parade, but also, they received a lot of recognition, as national and local TV stations mentioned Philadoptables and its mission in their reports from the parade.

We had a blast during the parade but most importantly we were happy to spread the word about our work to support the city’s shelter. Thank you WAWA and we will see you next year!