THE local Guide Dogs for the Blind fundraising group has raised over £600,000 since it was formed 41 years ago.
The Westbury and Warminster group has passed the extraordinary milestone with its small team of dedicated volunteers led by long time Westbury volunteer, Hilary Reed.
She has raised 50 puppies and many thousands of pounds herself through street collections, coffee mornings and other fundraising events and via donations of items to her home which she sells.
Hilary told White Horse News, “I have a big coffee morning every October which raised £1,500 last year; last September I had a pop up shop which raised £4,300 in two weeks and we had a £20,000 donation in cash – we were very fortunate. The donor didn’t want any recognition. More recently we’ve been left money in wills and now have a ‘bookshop’ in my garden where I’ve left books on my wall outside at home for people to buy and leave items.
Hilary – a former winner of the White Horse News Person of the Year award – said, “I take all kinds of things as donations: foreign coins, used stamps, teddies, I’ve had children’s car seats, fridge freezers, computers – I’ve got a shed full of stuff in the garden!
“I find companies that I can send the stuff to in return for payment.
“The money raised is for training dogs to guide blind people. They’ve also got a couple of extra strings to their bow – not every dog that’s trained will become a guide dog if they are not outgoing enough to lead. They can become a buddy dog for families with a child with sight problems so it gives them a flavour of what its like to have a guide dog.”
Volunteer Sue Packer told White Horse News, “It costs £56,000 from cradle to grave for each guide dog in the UK, and all of this money has to be raised through donations.
“Hilary is always available with helpful advice and motivation and has made our group the success it is. She hasn’t let a little thing like a pandemic stop her either and has even set up a ‘bookshop’ on her garden wall selling books, CDs, DVDs etc, and is currently raising funds to name a puppy ‘Captain Tom’” (Named after Captain Tom Moore who raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic).
“We are also hoping to have another pop-up charity shop at some point this year, as we have done for the past few years, which always raises lots of money, thanks to the support of local people.”
The group is always happy to have new members join in whatever capacity they would like. Sue said, “We often get together socially as well as professionally and the group is incredibly friendly and supportive.”
To get involved email Sue at suepacker2@gmail.com or Hilary at hilaryreed52@hotmail.com or leave a Facebook message in the group.
