Fund-raising success for guide dog puppy Worden

The Leyland community has achieved its goal of raising £5,000 to name a guide dog puppy after its beloved park - all within a few months.
The sponsored walk in Worden ParkThe sponsored walk in Worden Park
The sponsored walk in Worden Park

The Name a Puppy campaign allows individuals, groups and companies to give the gift of a name to a puppy that will bring liberty into the life of somebody living with visual impairment.

Members of South Ribble Borough Council, The Brothers of Charity, South Ribble MP Seema Kennedy and Councillor Linda Woollard, Mayor of South Ribble, backed the campaign, opting for Worden.

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Leyland Guide Dogs hosted a sponsored dog walk at Worden Park in Leyland, which raised £1,592 of the total.

Other fund-raising activities include a coffee morning at HMRC Charles House, talks and presentations to a number of local groups, car boot sales and funds raised by participants competing in the gruelling Tough Mudder competition.

Yvonne Onslow, Guide Dogs volunteer and joint co-ordinator for the campaign, gave special thanks to key supporters Hesketh Lodge Freemasons, The Rotary Club of Leyland and The Family and Friends of Stephen Davy (In Memoriam).

She said: “It’s been amazing witnessing what a single community can do in such a short space of time when passion and drive bring them together.

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“The effort put in to reaching this total has been phenomenal and we simply couldn’t have done it without the tremendous support of the local public, these groups and our own volunteers.”

Once born, Worden will join a puppy walker for 12 months before attending Guide Dog Training School.

He will then go on to help one of the two million people in the UK that are living with sight loss.

With lifetime costs totalling more than £50,000 for every working dog trained, the £5,000 represents a huge step in bringing independence back to the life of somebody in the UK living with sight loss.

To find out how you could Name a Puppy, call Manchester Mobility Team on 01189 838 715 or email [email protected]

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