The OOPOEH Foundation Wins the First Ever Purina BetterwithPets Prize in Europe

Barcelona, Spain (ots/PRNewswire) -

- The winner has been awarded CHF 40,000 and the rest of the
finalists -Canine Hope (UK), Dutch Cell Dogs (Netherlands), Medical
Detection Dogs (UK) and K9 Hundekunde: Happy Kids with Happy School
Dogs (Germany)- have been highly commended and awarded CHF
15,000 each
- The BetterwithPets Prize is a CHF 100,000 total cash prize
awarded as part of a Purina European-wide search for
innovative initiatives that harness the positive power of the
pet-human bond

Purina (https://www.purina.eu/) is proud to announce the long
awaited winner of the BetterwithPets Prize. The Prize is in
collaboration with Ashoka, a pioneer in the field of social
entrepreneurship, and has been awarded at the Purina BetterwithPets
Forum 2018, held in La Mola, Barcelona, Spain. The OOPOEH (Opa's en
Oma's Passen Op Een Huisdier) Foundation is the winner and has been
awarded CHF 40,000 to support and accelerate their innovative
initiative to continue to harness the positive and impactful power of
the pet-human bond. The other four finalists, Canine Hope, Dutch Cell
Dogs, Medical Detection Dogs and K9 Hundekunde: Happy Kids with Happy
School Dogs, have also been awarded CHF 15,000 of the prize total as
highly commended initiatives.

(Photo:
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/703186/Nestle_Purina_CEO.jpg )

(Photo:
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(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/703188/Purina_Panel.jpg )

(Photo:
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The OOPOEH Foundation who was high recommended by the judges is
based in The Netherlands. The foundation hopes to reduce loneliness
and increase physical activity for the elderly by matching them as a
dog sitter to a family in their neighbourhood.

"We are honoured and excited to be awarded this prize, this will
allow us to increase our initiative's social impact," said Sofie
Brouwer, Founder of the OOPOEH Foundation. "We had a fantacstic
workshop with Purina and now look to continue our project to target
vulnerable seniors with the advice and inspiration taken from the
BetterwithPets Forum."

The Purina BetterwithPets Prize was announced by Bernard Meunier,
CEO of Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA, in November 2017, as a search for
leading innovations focused on enriching the lives of pets and the
people who love them. In March this year the platform to submit the
entries for the Prize was opened, and 102 applications were submitted
from across Europe. After an online screening and an expert jury
review, five finalists were selected to pitch live their projects at
the Purina BetterwithPets Forum 2018, these were Canine Hope
(http://canine-perspective.com/canine-hope/), Dutch Cell Dogs
(http://www.dutchcelldogs.nl/), Medical Detection Dogs
(https://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/), K9 Hundekunde: Happy Kids
with Happy School Dogs (http://www.k9-hundekunde.de/), and The OOPOEH
Foundation (https://www.oopoeh.nl/). Each presented their project
during the Forum to an expert panel, as well as participating in
workshops to find solutions to their challenges with social
innovators, entrepreneurs, and pet industry experts and authorities
as part of this one-day event.

"It was truly moving to hear from the finalists and learn more
about their inspiring programmes and how they have managed to create
such a positive impact in their communities," said Bernard Meunier,
CEO of Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA. "Our society often talks about
the emotional, as well as the physical, effects of ageing. Loneliness
is one of the key issues that many are facing, with the most
vulnerable seniors being hard to reach as they rarely leave their
home and socialise. The OOPOEH Foundation has helped many elderly
citizens improve their quality of life. Most importantly, we
congratulate them on their efforts to date and their prize-winning
presentation, which captured the essence of their initiative, as well
as their commitment to their communities and pets. We will continue
to work with them as they invest the prize money to fast track their
initiative."

The Purina BetterwithPets Forum was not only to award the winner
of the Purina BetterwithPets Prize, but also bring together social
innovators, entrepreneurs and stakeholders from across Europe to
learn more about social innovation, to network and participate in
workshops. The participants exchanged ideas, shared their expertise,
talked about their challenges and created valuable connections to
start working together. "We wanted to create a network of powerful
connections to make change happen, together. We believe that this
forum will become a catalyst for change, enabling richer lives for
pets, the people who love them and our communities," said Bernard
Meunier.

BETTERWITHPETS FORUM: PRIZE PANEL MEMBERS

- Antonella Broglia - anchor of TV programme Para todos La 2 about
social entrepreneurs, and Ashoka España Ambassador, Spain
- Mary Sharrock - External Relations Director, Nestlé Purina PetCare
EMENA
- Professor Dr Marie-Jose Enders-Slegers - President IAHAIO
(International Association of Human Animal Interaction
Organisations)
- Professor Jeff French - Professor of Social Marketing, Brighton
University Business School, UK

BETTERWITHPETS PRIZE: CATEGORIES

Applicants whose work focuses on any of the categories below were
invited to apply.

Healthier together

The demands of a modern, more sedentary life means that people
either have less time or are less likely to be physically active with
their pets. We are looking for community-focused initiatives and
innovations that enable people and their pets to live active and
healthy lives together. Potential entries could:

- Facilitate a healthier and fitter lifestyle for both pets and
people
- Prevent obesity for both pets and people

Connecting together

People of all ages are experiencing a sense of isolation and
disconnection, be it from the increasing complexity of modern life
and technology, or because ageing and minority populations are being
overlooked, which can leave them feeling lonely and cut off from
society. We are looking for initiatives that span communities and
ages, and that celebrate the power of the pet-human bond for better
emotional well-being, to help foster and cultivate empathy and
emotional self-care. Potential entries could:

- Help to overcome societal disconnection and isolation
- Seek to provide interventions for emotional well-being

Enjoying spaces together

Increasing urbanisation and more regulations have led to fewer
pet-friendly open spaces and greater restrictions in places where pet
owners can take their pets. We are looking for initiatives that
enable both people and pets to enjoy and share the same spaces, as
well as demonstrate a social and/or economic benefit (e.g. pets in
workplaces), and enhanced pet-friendly areas in urban and rural
spaces. Potential entries could include:

- Enabling greater access to pets in everyday settings
- Enhanced design of pet-friendly spaces to enable pets and humans to
spend better quality time together

BETTERWITHPETS PRIZE: EVALUATION CRITERIA

Winning applications will show strength in the following areas:

- Innovation: The initiative must represent an innovative approach to
the problem it seeks to address. Innovation may result from the use
of new methods, models or technologies, or from the application of
old methods, models or technologies in new and innovative ways
- Social impact: The initiative must have proven its worth on a pilot
or small-scale basis, and already have measurable, quantifiable
social impact
- Potential for scaling up and/or replication: The initiative should
have strong growth potential and/or be replicable to other social,
cultural or geographical settings
- Financial viability: The initiative must be built on a viable
business model, and/or show realistic and long-term plans for
long-term financial viability, and must have the potential to
continue beyond the Purina BetterwithPets Prize funding
- Organisational leadership: The initiative and its leaders must
show leadership to influence the field in which they work, as well
as the ability to incorporate and leverage the investment by Purina
and the support offered through the Purina BetterwithPets Prize
- Potential for Creating Shared Value: The initiative should
create value for all stakeholders, thereby exemplifying the concept
of Creating Shared Value: it is our fundamental belief that our
business will be successful in the long term by creating value for
society at large, for pets and people in the community where we
live, work and play

About Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA

Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA (Europe, Middle East, North Africa)
believes that pets and people are better together and is committed to
helping pets live longer, happier and healthier lives through proper
nutrition and care. For over 120 years, Purina has been one of the
pioneers in providing nutritious and palatable products made to the
highest standards of quality and safety. Purina's passion for pets
goes beyond the advancement of pet nutrition and in 2016 Purina
PetCare Europe launched the 10 Purina in Society commitments to have
a positive impact on pets and society, including promoting pet
adoption, pets in the workplace and helping to reduce the risk of pet
obesity. The Purina portfolio includes many of the best-known and
best-loved pet foods including Felix®, Purina ONE®, Gourmet® and Pro
Plan®.

A premiere global manufacturer of pet products, Nestlé Purina
PetCare is part of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A., a global leader in
nutrition, health and wellness.

For more information, visit the Purina website:
https://www.purina.eu/

ABOUT ASHOKA

ASHOKA is the largest global network of leading social
entrepreneurs - individuals with new ideas to systemically address
the world's biggest challenges and the entrepreneurial skill to
transform those ideas into national, regional and global social
impact. Over 35 years, they have supported more than 3,300 social
entrepreneurs in 90 countries with solutions addressing society's
most pressing issues. Ashoka's vision is a world in which Everyone is
a Changemaker - a society that responds quickly and effectively to
challenges, and where each individual has the freedom, confidence and
societal support to address any social problem. http://www.ashoka.org

ots Originaltext: Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Cassandra Blázquez
Cassandra.blazquez@purina.nestle.com
+34-633-110-351
or Mary Sharrock
Mary Sharrock1@purina.nestle.com
+34-669-756-243

Original-Content von: Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA, übermittelt durch news aktuell