Charity thanks for fundraising success for Dogs for the Disabled

The Supporter Group members would like to thank everyone in the Bedfordshire area who has supported their fundraising; those who donated, attended events and gave their time.

If you’d like to get involved, or to hear more about the group’s activities, please email [email protected].

Stephanie Lawless, Community Fundraising Manager said “We would like to thank all the group members for their hard work raising these desperately needed funds and for helping to spread the word about how our dogs change lives. Nationwide our Supporter Groups raised over £170,000 during 2014, and we’re extremely grateful to them all.”

Dogs for the Disabled’s UK Community Fundraising in 2014 totalled a whopping £331,293, raised by individuals and community groups and events, golf clubs, dog training clubs, schools etc.

Dogs for the Disabled creates exceptional partnerships between people and dogs; from assistance dogs helping children and adults with physical disabilities and families affected by autism to pet dog autism workshops and innovative new projects working in schools and residential care settings. The charity receives no government funding and relies entirely on donations, fundraising and volunteers to continue its pioneering work.

Dogs for the Disabled has trained over 700 Assistance Dogs to date and currently has more than 300 working in England and Wales. There are 181 Assistance Dogs working in partnership with adults with disability, 66 working with children with a disability, 56 working with a family with a child with autism, three Dementia Dogs, two School Dogs and one working with adults with autism.

Dogs for the Disabled must raise £12,000 to fund each dog from birth to fully trained Assistance Dog or £20,000 to fund the dog for its entire working life.

It costs nearly £3 million pounds a year to run Dogs for the Disabled and the vital services it provides. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people in the UK could benefit from an Assistance Dog.

To make a donation visit www.dogsforthedisabled.org or call 01295 252600