Members of Purina Pro Club whose national parent club participates in the Purina Parent Club Partnership (PPCP) Program may earn funding for canine health studies, education and/or rescue efforts that will benefit their breed. Since 2002, the first year of the PPCP program, there has been more then $710,000 generated for health research, education or rescue. As of 2005, there are 149 National breed clubs participating in the program.
Through the PPCP Program, Purina and the AKC Canine Health Foundation work together to help parent clubs address priority health concerns for their breeds and areas not previously funded.
Here’s how the PPCP Program works: Pro Club members redeem weight circles from bags of participating Purina brand dog foods. Purina tracks these weight circle submissions, and for every $100 of qualifying weight circle points earned by Pro Club members, Purina donates $10 to the participating national parent breed club.
Points are accumulated throughout a calendar year, and in February, a check representing 10 percent of the value of the submitted weight circles for the year is evenly split between the participating national parent breed club and the AKC Canine Health Foundation. The donation that goes to the AKC Canine Health Foundation is eligible to be matched up to 100 percent by the Canine Health Foundation if it meets the Foundation’s funding guidelines.
The goal of Purina and the AKC Canine Health Foundation is to provide funding and resources to help breed clubs accomplish more in learning the causes of health conditions that may shorten a dog’s life. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from canine health studies may help dogs live longer, healthier lives.
— from the Purina website