We’re so excited: It’s almost time for the 2013 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge! If you haven’t heard about the Challenge yet, here’s the deal: 50 animal shelters nationwide will soon be participating in this exciting three-month competition to save more animals’ lives. During last year's Challenge, competing shelters saved a cool 56,232 dogs and cats.

Challenge kick-off weekend is just a week away, and we hope you’re gearing up to help your favorite participating shelter take home the grand prize. Here are a few ways you can help the $100K Challenge get started with a bang:

1. Attend a kick-off event near you. Starting June 1, there will be $100K Challenge kick-off events at participating shelters nationwide, featuring animal adoptions, food, games and other festivities. To find out if there’s a kick-off event happening in your area, please check our Challenge events page.
2. Spread the word on Facebook! Click over to the ASPCA Facebook page to share our $100K Challenge shareable card with your friends, and encourage them to participate in kick-off weekend!
3. Don’t forget to Tweet.  You can follow #100KChallenge on Twitter to be part of all the minute-by-minute kick-off action. Join the conversation and help your favorite shelter find homes for even more animals!

We couldn’t be more excited to get the 2013 Challenge started. Thanks for supporting local shelters in this exciting competition, and for helping to save animals’ lives nationwide!

When Nada P., an ASPCA staffer, agreed to take on Champ, an office foster cat with special needs, she had no idea that he would soon join her feline family. It didn’t take long for her to fall in love with Champ, now named Mr. Wiggles, and her three resident cats, Tiger, Bucky and Squeaker, welcomed him to the group. She shared the following story with us:

I first met Champ when he came to my office as a foster in September 2012. At the ASPCA, we have a great program where special needs cats get extra attention from staff who volunteer to care for them in their offices. Champ has cerebellar hypoplasia, a condition that makes him wobbly. He was quite wobbly at first, and would fall every time he looked up at me. However, he did manage to eat, drink water and use the litter box by himself. He quickly became a staff favorite because of his sweet nature and adorable good looks. Needless to say, I was smitten from the moment I met him.

As more and more people met him and mentioned that they may want to adopt him, the more I thought, “I need to take him home before anyone else does.” My only worry was how my other three cats would react to him. On December 14, 2012, I finally decided to take a chance and see how Tiger, Bucky and Squeaker would react to Champ. After a careful, slow introduction and a few nerve-racking encounters, my other boys fell for him as hard as I did. Champ, now named Mr. Wiggles, and his brothers are the best of friends. I could not be happier that I took a chance on him. He plays with wanton abandon and runs through our apartment so fast that it looks like he’s flying. When he has his “crazies,” he hops around like a deer, which makes him even faster. He has also become much more stable over time, and easily outruns his brothers. I am so grateful the ASPCA Adoption Center brought this angel into our lives.

Got a special adoption story? Share it (or Champ’s story!) on social media using the hashtag #HappyTail.