Lighthouse Animal Shelter Calendar Contest: How Voting Works & How to Win

What is the Lighthouse Animal Shelter calendar contest and who runs it?

The Lighthouse Animal Shelter Calendar Contest is a public vote on pet photographs that feed a shelter calendar. Entries are posted on the organizer's own contest site, and readers vote for the photos they like best during a set window. The contest is a photo vote rather than a judged competition, and this guide describes it by its shelter, state and format.

The Lighthouse Animal Shelter runs the contest, and the site's copyright line names GGPC, LLC. The market is tied to New Bedford in Massachusetts, and the vertical is best-of because the listing sits among regional best-of ballots. The mechanic is an open public vote on the organizer's site, with no third-party platform involved.

What is the dated record for this contest?

The contest has run in 2025 and 2026, and the dated window for 2026 is the clearest fact in the program details. The opening hour was 8:00 AM Eastern on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, and the closing hour was 9:00 PM Eastern on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. The page now reads that the contest has ended, which means no votes are being taken for that cycle.

The timeline separates the dated facts from the points the shelter has not published. The prizes are the only other concrete items in the program details, and they are listed in the table below.

The program details confirm no entry deadline separate from the voting window; confirm on the live ballot each cycle.

Readers should also keep in mind that the entries shown on the site are the ones the shelter chose to post, so the voting pool is set before any reader arrives. That order of events explains why the choices on the page look the same to every visitor during a window. A reader who wants a different set of entries has to wait for the shelter to post them, which is the same for everyone and is worth checking before a visit.

How does a supporter vote on an entry today?

A supporter opens the contest site, browses the entries posted for the calendar, and selects the photo they want to support. The entry page is where the vote is submitted, and the choice is limited to the entries the shelter has posted, so there is no free-text box to fill in.

The contest has ended for the 2026 cycle, so a reader who arrives now sees the closed entries rather than an open ballot. Readers who want the general method for a public vote can follow how to get more votes online, which explains the usual approach before any paid option is considered.

How does this contest sit beside other Massachusetts ballots?

The calendar contest sits beside several sibling best-of programs for Massachusetts, and each one has its own categories and calendar. The Boston and Cape Cod ballots cover wider regions, while the Central Mass and South Shore ballots follow their own regional scope and dates.

A reader who wants the Boston reader poll should open Boston.com Readers Say, and a Cape Cod search leads to Best of Cape Cod. Neither page shares the entries or dates of this calendar contest.

Readers who compare several Massachusetts ballots should note that a calendar contest and an award poll ask for different things. A calendar entry is judged as a photograph that will be printed, while a best-of ballot asks readers to name a business or service, so the two should not be treated as interchangeable.

How can a neighbourhood group or shelter supporter back an entry?

The contest feeds a printed calendar, so its public vote is a means to a finished product rather than a standalone award. Entries are posted in full on the contest site, which lets a reader judge each photo before choosing. Supporters usually reach friends and neighbours through the channels they already use, such as shelter newsletters, community boards and social posts. A short note that links the entry page and mentions the closing time is the clearest message, and it lets readers judge the photo for themselves.

Outside help needs care. The program details print no rule on paid support or on how the shelter treats bulk votes, so anyone considering a paid service should read whether buying votes is legal before spending money. Messages that go out early in a window give readers more time to vote than a reminder sent on the last day.