(West Warwick, RI – February 26, 2015) At some animal shelters, 90% of the dogs taken in are euthanized. The Brandi Project will officially launch in March to help lower statistics like this by supporting effective groups that rescue and find homes for shelter dogs.

The Brandi Project vision is to serve as a socially conscious business that becomes a central funding and educational force for dog-rescue organizations and dog lovers nationwide, with the goal of finding every shelter dog a forever-home. The organization will accomplish this by selling branded merchandise and apparel that increases rescue awareness and by donating 25% of the purchase price to no-kill shelters.

The Brandi Project was founded in 2014 by Jim Paolucci, owner of West Warwick’s Cowesett Inn, after he and his wife were introduced to a shelter dog named Brandi at the home of Brandi’s temporary foster family. The Paoluccis and the dog were inseparable, and they adopted Brandi soon after that first encounter.

Prior to creating The Brandi Project, Paolucci held fundraising events and donated personally to PAWS New England, the group that rescued Brandi, and that has rescued, rehabilitated and found homes for approximately 7,000 dogs in its eight-year history.

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Paolucci said, “Over the past two years it has been my pleasure to hold fundraisers through which the RI community of dog lovers has literally contributed tens of thousands of dollars to dog rescue. The Brandi Project formalizes fundraising by creating a robust and sustainable model that uses fashionable apparel to increase awareness and generate funds.”

“We’ve built a website, established a social media presence and have merchandise ready for sale. We aim to make our orange rescue ring/dog tag symbol synonymous with dog rescue, much as pink ribbons are immediately identified with the breast cancer cause,” said Paolucci. “We’re excited about building an extraordinary brand that impacts dog rescue on a national scale.”

The Brandi Project will officially launch with a “black leash” fundraiser on March 22 at the Cowesett Inn from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. with cocktail hour, dinner and raffle. Event tickets and more information are available on the website: www.thebrandiproject.com.