5th Annual Paws Across America Pet Photo Calendar Contest

Welcome to HELP of Beaufort's 5^th annual nationwide Pet Photo Contest. Paws Across America!  Show your support for HELP of Beaufort by participating in this special fundraiser. All donations will support the communities' new building so we may be able to offer more programs to our clients as well as maintaining our current ones. We will feature a 2200 square foot year-round produce garden this year, a bigger self-serve free pantry and clothing area, private office to interview our clients, a generator to provide emergency services during weather events and much more!

Supporters are encouraged to enter the contest & fundraise for HELP of Beaufort. The winning contestants' prizes are listed below.

Voters for your favorite pet will help them win a page in the calendar! $1=1 vote. Be sure to utilize your "vote bank" which will allow you to easily distribute votes to contestants as you browse the contest.

• Grand Prize Winner - The pet who receives the most overall votes, regardless of category, will be featured on the 2026 calendar cover and be the featured pet in the month of their choosing.
  
  In addition, they will receive a $1,000 Chewy, Petsmart OR Petco Gift Card (winners choosing), an artist rendering of their winning photo and 2 copies of the calendar.
• Category Winners - The ranking for this prize level is determined by a pet's PER CATEGORY ranking, not contest overall ranking.
  
  The pets with the most votes (excluding the Grand Prize Winner) in the categories of "Top Dog", "Top Cat" and "Top Other" will receive a $200 Gift Card of their choosing between Chewy, Petco OR Petsmart, be a 2026 calendar month's featured pet, and receive 2 copies of the calendar.
  
  
• Featured Pet Winners - The top 8 pets who receive the most overall votes (excluding the grand prize winner and the 3 category winners) will receive a $50 Gift Card of their choosing between Chewy, Petco, OR Petsmart, be featured as a 2026 calendar month's featured pet, and receive one copy of the calendar.
  
  
• Photo Collage - All pet contestants are winners! They will have their picture in the collage page featured in the 2027 calendar! Calendars will be available in October, 2026.
  
  
• All above winners, if not local, will have their prizes mailed to them.

All pets nationwide are encouraged to enter for FREE as we have arranged prizes to be won throughout the country. In order to enter your pet, you must include:

• Your Pet's Name
• Your First & Last Name
• Your City & State
• Your Contact Information
• A paragraph (limited to 125 words) which tells voters something fun or interesting about your pet. Remember that if your pet wins, this will be shared in our calendar, so be sure to make it engaging!

All contestants must submit their photo to the GoGo Photo Contest website. We cannot accept applications or photos in person at this time. Contestants can enter through 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, June 12, 2026, however the best chance of winning is registering early!

There is no entry fee for participants. Each $1 donation will count as one vote to the selected contestant. Donors must donate a minimum of $5 (or five votes). A large amount of votes can be stored in the donor's "vote bank" which can be distributed at a later time and to multiple contestants before the contest ends. There is no deadline to enter, however the earlier you enter, the better your chances to win!

HELP of Beaufort is a 501c3 organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Tax information will be sent through GoGo Photo Contest after the donation has been made. All donations are final and non-refundable.

• Acceptable picture formats are .jpg, .png, and .gif.
• Pictures should ONLY feature the pet being entered into the contest. Do not share a picture that has multiple animals or people.
• Photographs must either feature pets owned by the entrant, or the entrant must have permission from the pet's owner to submit their photo.
• Pictures must be in color.
• The pet featured in the picture may not be edited, altered other than minor color, contrast, or sharpness adjustments.
• Pictures may not be copyrighted.
• Any image that includes content that is deemed inappropriate, indecent, or obscene as determined by HELP of Beaufort may be removed from the contest.
• You can enter as many photos as you want!

Winners will be determined by the number of votes received per contestant. Once a photo is submitted, it will appear in the online gallery & will be open to voting to the general public. The voting period will end at 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, June 12, 2026. Votes must be registered by the online system before the deadline ends to be counted for the contest. If you are submitting votes close to the deadline, please keep in mind that processing time is necessary to register votes. We recommend using your vote bank to ensure that credit card processing has happened before. It is best not to wait until the last 3090 minutes of the contest to submit a large number of votes.

To vote, go to the contestant page you wish to support & donate a minimum of $5 for 5 votes. When voters donate, they will be given the option to apply all their votes to one contestant, spread their votes over various contestants, or store votes in a "vote bank" to be used at a later time. All votes are donations to HELP of Beaufort and are fully tax-deductible as permitted by law. All votes for photo submissions will be tabulated & displayed online.


The competition can get strong and to help you have the best chance of winning, we've gathered a few hints and tips:

• Use the social media links within the contest to promote your pet to your friends & family and encourage them to share on their pages as well! Remember the more people who know about your entry, the more likely you are to win!
• Have a garage sale and put the funds towards your pet!
• Get cash sponsorships! You can collect cash donations for your pet from friends, family and acquaintances, then simply apply the amounts yourself using your own login information & credit card. This is one of the easiest ways to get support, because you are collecting the funds directly and your supporters do not have to create their own account. Most people are happy to support HELP of Beaufort and you can collect any amount from $1-$1,000!
• Consider a campaign party to raise money for your pet.
• And finally, the most important thing you can do to increase donations to your entry is to remind people that every vote is a donation to HELP of Beaufort! We do not receive government funding and rely on fundraising and community support for success of our programs, as well as our build. Thank you in advance for your support-we couldn't do it without you!

The winning participants will be contacted from HELP of Beaufort and given instructions on receiving their prizes.


For any questions about our 5^th annual Pet Photo Contest Calendar Contest, please contact Lori Opozda at helpbeaufort@gmail.com or by phone at 843-524-1223.

HELP of Beaufort provides much needed resources in Beaufort County and the surrounding Counties. Our resources provide necessities to help families who are struggling, whether day to day or due to a life changer such as loss of a job, car accident, etc.. The pandemic brought forth a problem that we have never dealt with before….family pets. With finding many having to choose food for themselves, or their companions was heartbreaking. We decided to then add dog and cat items to our shelves because of course….pets are family too!

We offer free food, clothing, small household items, and now pet supplies to the list of items clients can get and all are FREE to them. We also provide a Mobile Meals Program which provides premade meals to those who are homebound and cannot cook, and a Mobile Pantry program which delivers free groceries to those who are homebound and CAN cook. We also do a once a month produce delivery of 5 pallets of fresh produce which is again, free to those in need.

Our organization is run by volunteers, 126 hardworking individuals who dedicate part of their week to assure people get the help they need from us. Our community and church outreach are a blessing as everyone pulls together to make sure we have enough to go around!

Our newest venture for the last 4 years has been our building….Buying a piece of land in 2021 was a HUGE step for us after being a community organization for 50 years. Last year we hit our goal of having our own permanent home thanks to our community! As our programs have grown, so have we and we have needed more space to help our clients. We have had 3 successful years campaigning and fundraising, thanks to events such as these. This contest will help us sustain our new building by keeping our shelves stocked of both human and pet food. We will also feature our areas FIRST produce garden for our clients, to make ourselves self-sustaining in providing our clients with fresh produce year-around. We will also be able to teach our area residents how to successfully, and affordably, garden for themselves no matter where they live so they may have better nutrition without breaking the bank. 

HELP of Beaufort's mission is; To provide food, clothing and short-term financial assistance to our neighbors in need. Our programs are designed to fill the gaps of many needs in the community, provide meals to those who cannot do so for themselves and 'Give a Hand Up, Not a Handout'.