Mars teams up with Calm and Shailene Woodley to celebrate Mars Global Adoption Weekend

Mars has teamed up with award-winning actor Shailene Woodley and mental health company Calm to shine a light on the power of pets for mental wellbeing and to encourage adoption as a path to pet ownership.

A recent global survey commissioned by Mars and Calm found a huge 83% of pet owners say their pet has improved their mental wellbeing.

Mars, Calm and Woodley are coming together to promote pet adoption ahead of the Mars Global Adoption Weekend, running Oct. 3 to 5.

Mars will be promoting adoption through a range of initiatives from financial contributions to shelters, local events and associate volunteering.

READ: Is it time to rethink the pet aisle?

In Canada, Mars will cover $10,000 in cat adoption fees at four partner shelters during October 3-5. The Pedigree Foundation will cover an additional $10,000 in dog adoption fees.

Adopted pets will go home with treats, pet supplies and other educational materials. During the month of October, Mars and Calm are also providing those who adopt with 3 months of free Calm membership.

As part of the campaign, Woodley has recorded a sleep story, exclusively available on Calm, inspired by her own experience welcoming pets into her life. The sleep story, "Finding Four-Legged Friends", is part of the first-ever pet-inspired content collection on Calm created in collaboration with Mars, and it also features free-to-access content.