Just a few days before her 45th birthday, Sam Foster who is an art teacher and Head of Year 7 at Piggott School in Reading, ran the Milton Keynes Marathon in aid of Canine Partners. 

Sam never considered herself a particularly sporty person and only started running in her mid 30’s, but in addition to this fantastic feat of running over 26 miles she also completed four half marathons over a period of eight months!

“My motivation was to raise money for Canine Partners, who do an amazing job by training assistance dogs for people with disabilities. I was introduced to this charity by one of its volunteer ambassadors, Nick Poole, who has been a dedicated fundraiser for a number of years.”

Through Nick, Sam has met a number of our partners and heard the emotional stories of how one of our dogs have transformed their lives. She decided that she could not think of a more worthwhile charity to represent.

Training for a marathon was not easy. As a full-time teacher and mother, finding time to train was a challenge in itself. With the help of Sam’s partner dragging her out to run every weekend in all weathers, she stuck it out.

However, the big day didn’t quite go as she had planned! Sam felt prepared by loading up with gels and flapjacks to keep her going, but she took it too far and started to feel ill at the 18 mile mark.

“I thought I would have to stop. I somehow pulled it together, and after a few miles of slow trotting, the feeling of sickness eased and I managed to run once more. Approaching the stadium finish was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. I completed the run in four hours, 48 minutes. Not the quickest, but for me, I had achieved something I never thought I was capable of.”

In addition to her running efforts, her Year 7 group at Piggott School baked and sold cakes to their fellow students to bolster Sam’s fundraising.

In total, she raised a fantastic £1,000 which will go towards transforming the life of a person with physical disabilities.

A huge thank you to Sam and all of her supporters!

Would you like to take on a challenge to raise money for Canine Partners?

Find out about all of our opportunities in our Fundraising section.

Hundreds of people descended upon St Mary Abbotts Church in Kensington, London, on Thursday 15 December to join a thoroughly festive carol service to raise vital funds. In its fifth year, the Draycott Carol Service is organised by Angela Hamlin, founder and managing director of Draycott Nursing & Care which is a long-standing supporter of ours.

Special guests included HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO, writer and entertainer Pam Ayres MBE, presenter Valerie Singleton, actors Tim McMullan and Jack Fox, as well as Rula Lenska – all of whom thoroughly enjoyed meeting our dogs!

The service featured readings from some of the celebrities, as well as music performed by the incredibly talented choristers from Thomas’s Fulham school choir. What’s more, we had a team of 14 amazing dogs demonstrating the life-changing skills they have been taught to help our partners.

Some of the demo dog team also mucked in throughout the service by giving scrolls to the speakers and collecting donations from generous donors.

Also in attendance at the event were partnerships Natalie Preston and Faye, as well as Jo Hill and Derby.

Natalie, 27, who has celebral palsy and mobility problems said: “I thought the service was lovely. I liked everything about it especially seeing the demonstration dogs giving scrolls to the speakers. It was a great way to bring in Christmas and it made me proud to be a part of Canine Partners. I want to thank everyone who supported Canine Partners at the carol service so that even more people can have amazing dogs like Faye.”

Actor Jack Fox, a member of the Fox family dynasty, added: “When you see dogs that enjoy what they’re doing alongside owners who need and enjoy them just as much it breaks your heart – and not in an ex-girlfriend way, in a good way. There are going to be a lot of people I talk to about Canine Partners – 99 per cent of the reasons are because the dogs are so great, and one per cent, because I want them.”

The event helped to raise over £10,000 which will go towards training more amazing assistance dogs to transform the lives of disabled people. You can view a selection of the photos from the event below.

A huge thank you to everyone involved and we look forward to 2017’s service!

Fundraiser Julie took on Macchu Pichu to raise vital funds for us.

Upon finding out her friend was taking a trip to Peru, Julie Regan decided to go along with her. Climbing Macchu Pichu had been on Julie’s bucket list for years, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to take the plunge as well as raise money for a good cause.

On choosing Canine Partners, Julie said:

“I had been introduced to Canine Partners by a friend and I decided to dig deeper and find out more about the Charity. I went along to one of the fabulous open days that showed the complexity of the dogs’ skills and the impact they had on their partner’s lives.

One of the stories that was recounted by a brave lady that really struck a chord with me, was how her doggie partner was not only able to help her undress, empty the washing machine and all the other amazing things that these dogs do, but also this dog had a sixth sense and let her know when she needed to get extra help with her health issues. Incredible stuff!”

The trek was a tough challenge, even for a fitness coach. The high altitude was a struggle, and a lot of the days started very early in the morning. Julie travelled in a group of 15 trekkers, and said of the experience:

“The camaraderie was amazing…I can hand on heart say that everyone was watchful, motivating and caring for one another. All the stories I’d heard of reaching Macchu Pichu were about life-changing experiences. I got that. I was taken out of my comfort zone, away from everyday technology.

When I reached the summit I felt so incredibly proud, especially as I had overcome my fear of heights and managed to raise even more awareness of the fabulous Canine Partners charity and the amazing consequences that come from matching someone who needs a helping hand, with man’s best friend.”

To date, Julie has raised over £1,000 for embarking on this arduous challenge – well done Julie and a huge thank you from everyone at Canine Partners!

Would you like to take on a challenge to raise money for Canine Partners? Find out about all of our opportunities in our Fundraising section.

Mya receives a Blue Peter for her incredibly generous fundraising!

Mya who goes to Bedales School in Petersfield, Hampshire, has been fundraising for Canine Partners for a little while – and even has a Blue Peter badge to prove it. She was awarded the badge for her charity efforts, and as you can see she is beaming with pride!

So far, Mya has raised over £300 by holding events at her school such as selling homemade cakes at the school fete as well as handing out Canine Partners flyers in her local village. For the past few years she has also asked her friends and family to donate money to Canine Partners instead of buying her Christmas presents.

She’s not done yet though – as she is also planning a Silent Disco and other fun events with friends to raise even more vital funds for us.

Mya became aware of Canine Partners when her school hosted an Open Day in 2014: “I just got inspired by how you train the magnificent animals to do incredible things.

I love dogs and want to help out a charity that uses dogs to help people with disabilities.

It felt unbelievable to get a Blue Peter badge for helping a charity that has inspired me to do more helpful things”.

A huge thank you to Mya for all of her efforts – and we look forward to what she has planned next!

If you would like to find out more about supporting Canine Partners through fundraising for us, visit our Fundraising page for inspiration. Looking to volunteer? We have a variety of opportunities available. Visit our Volunteering section to find out more.

Find out how your school, college or University can get involved with the charity, here.

Hull University’s RAG Society are supporting our work to transform lives.

When deciding who to support for their Charity of the Semester, Hull University students voted overwhelmingly for Canine Partners after hearing about the work that we do in training dogs to transform the lives of disabled people. We are delighted that we proved so popular!

So far, the Hull RAG team have hosted a Take Me Out style event as well as a very colourful Colour Run which was attended by partnership Pam Quick and her canine partner Alucia who was a big hit with the students.

Ellie Wild, Publicity Officer for Hull RAG said:

“The reception to the Charity has been fantastic! Alucia proved to be very popular with all of the students and definitely brought a smile to everyone’s face! So far we have raised over £500, which we are really proud of and hope to add as much as possible to”.

“We love the work that Canine Partners do in training puppies to help improve so many people’s quality of life; by allowing them to live more independently and providing a friendship like no other! Hull RAG are extremely excited to be raising money and awareness for such an amazing cause”.

Helen Watkinson, National Fundraising and Community Engagement Manager said:

“We are delighted to be supported by Hull RAG, and we are incredibly grateful to them for helping us to raise awareness. All money raised will go to support the work of the Charity in the local area.”

Tomorrow (15 November), the Hull RAG are hosting a Dog Demo Day at their Student Union where students will be able to meet qualified canine partners, demonstration dogs and puppies in training. They are hoping to raise even more money for Canine Partners, and the students are very much looking forward to meeting our dogs and seeing what they can do.

There are lots of ways that you can support Canine Partners through fundraising. Find out more by visiting our Fundraising section.

Jenny Brown decided that leading up to her 30th birthday, she would take on an exciting endeavour to complete 30 challenges in aid of Canine Partners.

These challenges included watching 30 movies recommended by other people, visiting the Shard in London and trying 30 new foods she had never tried before. She ticked off all of her challenges in time for her birthday on 9th October and has so far raised £120. Well done, Jenny!

Of her challenge, Jenny said:

“I doubt I’m the first person to come up with the idea of doing a list on the run up to my 30th birthday… but when I got the idea into my head I couldn’t shake it off! And with just over 4 months to do it in I’d certainly put the pressure on!

I originally wanted to do big things for my birthday like sky diving, travelling, flying lessons etc…but money isn’t great and my health hasn’t been at it’s best lately so I decided to do this list a bit differently.”

Five years ago, Jenny started getting back problems after a fall. She discovered that she has a degenerative spine with a bulge disc, enlarged facet joints and a slipped vertebrae. Her muscles are also progressively wasting away so many activities she used to enjoy are now becoming more difficult and tiring to complete.

Because of this, Jenny opted for smaller challenges that she hadn’t done before, many of which came with unexpected problems (or sub-challenges as a friend put it!). However, she remained optimistic.

“I learnt if you really put your mind to it, you can work around your problems and overcome them. All the challenges in the end had amazing outcomes. It just kept getting better and better as it went along”.

Jenny chose Canine Partners as she wanted to support people who have difficulties doing everyday tasks. She also wanted to support our dogs as dogs have made a big difference in her own life as a dog walker.

Now that she has completed her #30thingsforyour30th list, she is now moving on to a new list she has called #30thingsnowyouare30 where she is setting herself some more challenges to complete!

“The idea of doing a second list originally occurred halfway through the first one because I didn’t want it all to end, but then I immediately dismissed the idea at the risk of it all becoming mundane.

I felt ecstatic from completing the first list but then I felt empty as it was all over. The list had made such a positive difference to me and knowing it was helping so many other people I couldn’t let it end. My circumstances haven’t changed at all but my whole outlook on life has. And knowing I can help make someone else’s life even better with Canine Partners makes it all worth while.”

You can follow Jenny’s journey over on Facebook by following the #30thingsnowyouare30. If you’d like to donate to Jenny’s challenge, visit her JustGiving page.

On Sunday 9 October, 10 brave volunteers took part in the Forth Rail Bridge Abseil to raise much needed funds for Canine Partners.

The bridge, which is an iconic Heritage Site structure standing at an impressive 165ft, towers over the Firth of Forth River near Edinburgh, Scotland.

The team were able to raise close to £4,000, an incredibly impressive amount which will make a big difference to the charity in transforming the lives of disabled people.

Dale Gormley, our Scotland Community Manager said:

“It was a fantastic crisp autumn day with plenty of sunshine and a good time was had by all. Our team of 10 brave challengers all completed the abseil, albeit with some expected nerves and trepidation. And the fact the volunteers have raised so much money for Canine Partners, which receives no government funding is absolutely fantastic. We’re so grateful to everyone who took part – and bring on next year!”

The challenge was organised by Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland in a bid to raise money and awareness for charity.

Well done to all of those who took part, and a big thank you to those who sponsored the volunteers as well.