ResQwalk to the Rescue.

ResQwalk, an innovative iOS app that enables animal lovers to raise
money for animal rescues and shelters just by going for a walk, is now
available for iPhone (with plans to expand to Android in the near future). It's available for FREE through the App Store.

Our vision, said Bailey Schroeder CEO and Founder of ResQwalk, is to create a platform that makes giving easy. People don't always have time to volunteer with their local animal rescue, or the space to welcome a dog or cat into their home. Now, with ResQwalk, they have a fun, easy way to contribute to a great cause while doing something they're already doing-walking.

Each week ResQwalk announces a donation pool and, in order for an
organization to receive a portion of the pool, its supporters simply
need to check in to the app when they go for a walk with their dog. At
the end of the week donations are paid out to the various rescues
proportionally to the total distance walked. ResQwalk tracks both miles
and kilometers walked and currently works in the USA and Canada (with plans to expand to other countries).

Being the President & Founder of Kitten Associates, a non-profit cat rescue, I was uniquely qualified because I use the app and my rescue benefits from it.

I downloaded the app for my old iPhone and gave it a test drive. The interface is very simple and straightforward and I had no problem setting it up. Sam and I went for a walk around the block. As we walked, ResQwalk followed along ticking off every step. I found myself obsessively checking our progress every few minutes, glad to see we were approaching the first mile mark. Because we weren't signed up to be a recipient rescue, we walked for our friends at Kitten Rescue in LA.

As we neared home, I noticed we walked .99 of a mile! I was tempted to continue walking up and down the stairs in my house so I'd hit the 1.0 mile mark, so perhaps you might be inspired to walk a bit further, depending on your results if you're as anal as I am!

When you choose to complete your walk and send the results to ResQwalk HQ, you also have the option to Tweet or post your walk on Facebook. This certainly can get your friends to join you the next time you go, but they also know WHERE you are so if you're a celebrity or don't care for stalkers, be mindful about what you post. I shared my results because no one would believe that I actually went for a walk (I prefer sitting quietly-too bad there's not an app for sitting at the computer. I would so WIN that). Okay, it DOES make going for a walk fun because you know you're helping a rescue while you get the benefit of exercise.

I recently went for a walk when I was out of town on a mini-break and got to share the results on Facebook.

A few days later I signed up our rescue and fairly soon thereafter I discovered Kitten Associates (KA) was listed on the app. Some of our friends went for a walk and at the close of the first week we got our first donation. It was $1.48, but we barely had anyone walking for us. Also, it cost us NOTHING to get that donation, so that's a win for rescues who are constantly looking for ways to increase donations. All they have to do is work on recruiting folks to walk for them. (Hey! This week we got $4.81! Thank you, walkers!)

I was contacted by Edward at ResQwalk about creating custom badges for both our uses and I thought that was a very helpful idea. This is not a one-sided operation. I truly felt as though they DO want to help rescues however they can and they were easy to work with.

The only thing that ruffled my feathers a little bit was that the app was designed around taking your dog for a walk. If you don't have a dog, as is in my case, just go for a walk! I even did a test walk when I did some shopping because the local Target store seems so big that I figured I must walk a decent distance. What surprised me was at the end of my walk was that ResQwalk reported I didn't walk far enough for it to count! I felt a bit embarrassed, but hey, I tried.

I love this idea. It promotes good health. It's FREE. There is an option to view and purchase extra goodies to support your local rescue if you like to do a bit of shopping. You can change out which rescue you support to spread the wealth or simply focus on your hometown favorite.

You can get ResQWalk FREE HERE and find them on Facebook and Twitter.

MAKE CERTAIN YOU CHOOSE KITTEN ASSOCIATES for your charity when you take your walk! Our kittens will certainly appreciate it even if they can't go outside.

And to those deep-pocketed pet brands out there-this is a great way to get some positive name recognition by sponsoring the weekly pot of money! Take heed!

Now get walkin'!

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After careful consideration, from time to time I write product reviews. If you see it here, it's because, at LEAST I think it's worth you knowing about even if I have an issue with it and, at BEST, I think it's amazing and we should all have one, two or more of whatever it is I'm reviewing. In this case I will be reimbursed for writing this review, though I only write reviews about things I honestly like. This review is MY OPINION, ONLY. The result you experience using this product may differ.