🐾✨ Shelter Slumber Pawty ✨🐾
What started as one bold idea has grown into a worldwide movement for shelter pets.
In 2017, Gateway Pet Guardians (GPG), located in East St. Louis, hosted the very first Shelter Slumber Pawty. Staff and volunteers spent 24 hours inside kennels, living side by side with shelter dogs while asking their community to donate. The entire experience was livestreamed, giving supporters a real and unfiltered look at life inside a shelter.
By the end of that first 24-hour Pawty, more than $30,000 had been raised.
The impact was immediate, and the idea quickly spread. In 2019, 17 St. Louis area organizations joined together to raise critical funds for animals in their care. By 2023, the first International Shelter Slumber Pawty brought together more than 40 shelters across four countries, raising over $600,000 collectively.
In 2025, the Pawty reached an incredible milestone. Fifty six agencies across the United States, South America, and Africa raised more than $1 million to support orphaned pets in their communities.
From one shelter’s overnight challenge to a global night of compassion, the Shelter Slumber Pawty continues to prove what is possible when people come together for animals.
Now it is our turn.
This will be Franklin County Humane Society’s very first Shelter Slumber Pawty, and we could not be more excited. Our staff, fosters, and volunteers will be entertaining and engaging with supporters at home from Noon on April 18 through Noon on Sunday, April 19 as we raise critical funds for the orphaned pets in our care.
🐾✨ Save the Date ✨🐾
Join us online for our Virtual Slumber Pawty
📅 April 18–19, 2026
🕛 Noon to Noon
Get ready for a cozy night that changes lives. More details are coming soon, but for now, mark your calendar for 24 hours of fun, fundraising, and making a difference for shelter pets from the comfort of your home.
Stay tuned. 💛