2009 IPSSSDR
Wendy Davis at the Pinedale Stage Stop Start in February, 2009. The race route has been changed and will not go down Hwy 191/Pine Street for the 2010 race. Pinedale Online file photo.
|
|
IPSSSDR marks 15th year
Mushing for Immunization - Sled dog race contributes vaccination funding to Wyoming and Utah charities
by International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR)
November 24, 2009
Vaccinating kids has become an of-the-moment hot topic with the thorny public health issues surrounding the H1N1 virus, but for the 15-year-old International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR) – known as "the race to immunize" as part of its mission – promoting the need to immunize children under the age of two has always been on the agenda. And for the race, which will mush through Wyoming again January 29 – February 6, 2010, that dedication translates into hard cash that helps fund charities in its host communities, including Jackson, Lander, Uinta County, Pinedale, Alpine and Kemmerer, Wyoming, and Park City, Utah.
"We’re thrilled to be in a position to donate cash to the stage stop towns on the race for the fourth year now," said IPSSSDR Race Director Frank Teasley. "We wouldn’t have a race without the support of these communities, so we’re glad to be able to help them with the areas where they’re most in need, including the immunization of young children."
The race-provided funds are donated to the towns, which in turn donate the money to appropriate local charities. Designated community chair people identify which nonprofit organizations receive the funds, and many of the communities have chosen to fund immunizations.
Nonprofits in Wyoming and Utah that received a contribution from the race in 2009 include Breakfast Rotary of Jackson Hole; Fremont County Health, Lander Ambassadors, Alpine Fire Department, Star Valley Humane Society, Lincoln County Immunizations, Sublette County Public Nurse, Park City Sunrise Rotary and Uinta County Community Youth Coalition.
"Now more than ever, we want to stress the need for children under two to receive all of their proper immunizations," said Teasley, "The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race wants to help, both through spreading the word and by helping communities actually fund needed vaccines."
Pedigree® Food for Dogs is the title sponsor of the IPSSSDR. The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race was founded in 1996 by former Iditarod racer Frank Teasley to make sled dog racing more accessible to the public and to promote the need to immunize children under the age of two.
For more information, visit the race Website at www.wyomingstagestop.org, contact the race via e-mail at wystagestop@blissnet.com, or telephone at (307) 734-1163, or visit www.pedigree.com.
|
