Teenage Junior Golf Captain Ewan raises £1,451 for Canine Partners

As Junior Captain for 2019, Ewan was given the task of choosing a charity to support on the annual Charity Golf Day at Chelsford Lakes, which was held on Saturday 15 June 2019. We are very grateful that he picked Canine Partners as the chosen charity for the event.

The day consisted of 9 hole competition in the morning, followed by an 18 hole competition during the afternoon, rounded off with a BBQ. The juniors partnered with an adult member of their family, with competitions during the day including: ‘Beat the Pro’, Straightest Drive, Longest Drive and nearest the Pin.

A raffle was drawn at the end of the day along with the presentation of the awards, bringing the total amount raised to a fantastic £1,451.29.

Ewan explains why he has chosen to fundraise for Canine Partners:

“I first heard about the charity from my grandmother as it is one of her favourite charities to support, and I don’t feel that it receives the same level of publicity as other ‘support dog’ charities.

Support dogs can make such a difference to a person with a disability – providing practical assistance and help as well as companionship. I have learnt that it costs a considerable amount of money to train a dog and support a Partnership.”

Fundraise for Canine Partners

Fancy fundraising for Canine Partners? There are so many ways you can have fun and raise money as well. Visit our Fundraising page for inspiration.

Canine Partners awarded £20,000 grant by the Crerar Trust

Crerar Hotels operate hotels and inns which are based in Scotland. Uniquely, more than 50% of the group’s distributable profits are donated to charities operating within areas where Crerar Hotels are based.

The Trust, which is chaired by Paddy Crerar CBE, has awarded £8m of grants to over 450 organisations over the last 18 years. This forms part of a commitment to re-invest in the communities in which the group’s hotels and inns are based. The Crerar Trust meets twice a year to award grants and in this current funding round, £216,136 of grants were awarded to 38 organisations.

A wide variety of organisations received awards, including those providing support across health, education, and social inclusion to people of all ages.

Paddy Crerar CBE, Chairman of The Crerar Trust and Chief Executive of Crerar Hotels, commented:

“We are delighted to have made this award to Canine Partners and look forward to hearing how this funding helps impact their work. Crerar Hotels is committed to giving back to the local community to help it grow and thrive, and provide opportunities that may otherwise seem out of reach. For every stay our customers have with us they are supporting others who really need it. It is great for our folk in the hotels to see their hard work and efforts helping people in their own communities as well as those from throughout the whole of Scotland.”

Nicola Martin, our Chief Executive, said:

“We are extremely grateful for this commitment from The Crerar Trust to our work in Scotland. This will help to secure our provision of this crucial support for our Scottish clients and we look forward to transforming the lives of many more people in Scotland in the coming years.”

Find out more about The Crerar Trust at crerarhotels.com/discover/crerar-trust/

Meet Welly, sponsored by David Wilson Homes

David Wilson Homes is based in Coalville, Leicestershire, and is part of Barratt Developments Plc. The company has kindly donated £50,000 to sponsor the costs of one of our assistance dogs from puppy to partnership and to further develop the site.

In recognition of this investment, we have named one of our puppies-in-training Wellington, or ‘Welly’ as he is affectionately known, after the Golden Retriever in the company’s own logo.

Richard Brooke, Regional Managing Director at David Wilson Homes, said:

“We are thrilled to be able to support Canine Partners with our donation and are already enjoying hearing the progress our puppy, Wellington, is making.

This well-deserving charity works tirelessly to provide disabled people with more independence and a better quality of life by giving them an assistance dog, and we are proud to be getting behind such a worthy cause. We are delighted to be able to support Canine Partners as they are a fantastic organisation.

We want to lead the industry not just in the quality of the homes and developments we build, but also in our work with charities and good causes throughout the UK.”

Puppy Wellington is currently living with his puppy parents in the Derby area and has begun the first steps of his training to become a canine partner.

David Wilson Homes is not only supporting the new kennel build but John Reddington, Managing Director of David Wilson Homes East Midlands, is organizing a large team of volunteers to help with the landscaping and other projects to develop the site and improve access.

We look forward to working together through 2020 and beyond.

Could your company support us?

Whether it’s as charity of the year, volunteering at events or giving a gift in kind, you can find out how your company can support Canine Partners on our Corporate Support page.

No 3 District Inner Wheel raise over £2000 to help transform lives

Volunteers of Canine Partners were recently invited to Bamburgh Castle at the second of four fundraising days that they have organised in support of the Charity. As part of the awareness and fundraising day the opportunity was taken to present a cheque for £2,308.51 from the No 3 District Inner Wheel.

The No 3 District Inner Wheel includes 25 clubs across the North East, and past District Chairman Carole Edwards chose Canine Partners as their charity of the year. Reflecting on the partnership, Carole said: “We are absolutely delighted at the amount of funds raised in support of Canine Partners.”

The grounds of Bamburgh Castle have recently become ‘dog friendly’, meaning visitors and their furry friends could enjoy the demonstrations provided by our demo dog Rio, as well as by Susan and her canine partner Esther. Bamburgh Castle which has stood for over 1400 years, is part of the beautiful Northumbrian coastline, and is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country – providing a very picturesque setting for the fundraising days.

A huge thank you from all of us at Canine Partners for the amazing efforts in raising vital funds to transform lives.

Would your club like to raise vital funds for us?

Organisations and clubs across the UK have chosen us as their Charity of the Year, hosting fun events in their community to raise funds. Find out more about nominating us and where your money goes.

Crofton Secondary School raise £5,000 to help transform lives

During the academic year 2017/18, Crofton Secondary School in Stubbington, Hampshire, adopted Canine Partners as their charity of the year.

Pupils, staff and parents, together with the Fareham fundraising group, worked really hard to raise money in many inventive ways and by the end of the year had achieved a staggering total of over £5,000.

This truly amazing amount was put towards the Gift of Independence sponsorship scheme. As part of this scheme, the school was able to choose the name of the sponsored puppy and it will come as no surprise that the chosen name was Crofton.

Little Crofton, a black Labrador X Golden Retriever, went home with his puppy parent at the end 2018. However, in July of this year he made a guest appearance at the school, much to the delight of everyone. He behaved impeccably, demonstrating all the qualities that will one day hopefully make him an amazing canine partner.

Amanda Knight, Senior Assistant Headteacher said:
“Crofton students were so excited to meet ‘Crofton’ the dog. Canine Partners have made many visits to the school, so the students understand the invaluable work the dogs do and can now see how their fundraising is being used to transform lives of people living with physical disabilities.”

A huge thank you to Crofton Secondary School from everybody at Canine Partners for their fabulous fundraising.

Would you like to give the Gift of Independence?

Whether you are a school like Crofton or an individual who loves to fundraise, take a look at our Gift of Independence page to find out how you can have the opportunity to play a vital role in the funding of an amazing life-transforming partnership.

Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity supports veteran assistance dog partnerships

Leading national assistance dogs charity Canine Partners has been able to continue to provide specially trained assistance dogs to Royal Navy and Royal Marines veterans after receiving a donation of £27,600 at the end of 2018 from the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity.

The grant is funding the ongoing aftercare of established partnerships supported by the charity, which trains dogs in specialised tasks which give their human partners greater independence, privacy when they need it, retains their dignity and helps their family to relax, safe in the knowledge their loved one has help at hand 24 hours a day.

The grant from the RNRMC is helping the charity continue the regular home visits to all its Royal Navy and Royal Marines beneficiaries to ensure that each partnership is working well and ongoing training is provided as required. Supporting veterans and their families in this way is giving Canine Partners’ beneficiaries the security of knowing that the canine partner living with them will provide the practical assistance that is needed as well as supporting the families of veterans. Mark, a naval officer in the Submarine Service, tells us that his wife’s canine partner, Moray, gave him absolute peace of mind. “Having him at home allowed me to continue to serve with the Armed Forces,” he said.

Canine Partners’ chief executive, Nicola Martin, said the RNRMC’s generous support is putting Canine Partners in a stronger position to provide crucial ongoing aftercare support to all the charity’s partnerships and, in turn, the charity will be far better placed to fund the new life transforming canine partnerships it is aiming to create in the coming years.

“The work Canine Partners is privileged to carry out with our veteran beneficiaries is very positive and we are extremely grateful to the RNRMC for giving us the funding to continue making a difference to the lives of all those from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines who we work with,” she added.

The London Walking Dog Show raises an amazing £4,000

On Sunday 19 May, dog walkers enjoyed a dog show with a difference at the stunning Kensington Gardens.

This event was our first walking dog show, and we are delighted that it was such a big hit! The event raised a total of £4,000, with over 150 people attending.

We were also joined by England rugby player Chris Robshaw and his wife classical singer Camilla Kerslake (with their dog Rico too, of course!), as well as Downton Abbey actor David Robb. Robb was one of our six judges, judging the Best Ears category.

Many rosettes were handed out to happy dogs, with Best in Show awarded to a Cocker Spaniel x Poodle. Choosing the winners for all categories was tough though, as there was adorable competition all-round!

The event was organised to raise vital funds to train more amazing assistance dogs to transform the lives of disabled people. The money will help us to continue this mission to create amazing partnerships, providing greater independence and quality of life to our beneficiaries.

Watch the video

View the photos

Visit our Facebook page to view all of the photos from the event. Don’t forget to “like” or page to stay up-to-date!

Disappointed you missed out on our Walking Dog Show? If you are local to Northampton, join us on Sunday 23 June for the Naseby Lodge Walking Dog Show! Find out more >

You can view all of our events by visiting our events page >

Caremark (Chichester) invites a celebrity host for charity bingo!

On Wednesday 6 March, Caremark (Chichester) hosted a very exciting bingo night with a very special celebrity guest!

Children’s TV legend Dave Benson Phillips was the bingo caller, injecting his trademark enthusiasm as he entertained the attendees at The Duke and Rye pub in Chichester.

The event was put on by local care home provider Caremark (Chichester) to help raise vital funds to purchase a life-transforming Canine Partner puppy. It costs £800 to source a puppy that will then go on to be trained and matched with a person living with physical disabilities. The evening was a great starter for ten, raising £240 so far.

Caremark (Chichester) offer a range of home care services including in-home support for people living in the district of Chichester. Their friendly care and support works can help with personal day-to-day tasks such as cleaning and shopping.

The organisation has chosen to fundraise Canine Partners as a number of the carers support our work. They visited our Southern Training Centre at the end of 2018 and felt they wanted to help raise some money for us. They are putting on a number of events in 2019 to help reach their fundraising goal.

To find out more about these events coming up or any other enquiries, you can call them on 01243 217060 or check out the Caremark (Chichester) website.

Donate to Caremark (Chichester)’s JustGiving

Would your company like to raise vital funds for us?

Organisations across the UK have chosen us as their Charity of the Year, hosting fun events in their community to raise funds. Find out more about nominating us and where your money goes.

London Marathon runner Joe smashes fundraising target, raising over £3,700!

27-year-old Joe Struggles took on the Virgin Money London Marathon on 28th April and raised over £3,700 including Gift Aid to transform lives.

We introduced you to Joe in this blog post last month, and we are delighted to announce that he completed the marathon in under 4 and a half hours – an incredible achievement!

Joe was inspired by his father and brother who have run the London Marathon a few times before, but this was his first time as he had been unable to secure a spot in the past.

Luckily, when we were looking for participants to run for us, he took the opportunity to sign up and pledge to fundraise to help us on our mission to transform lives.

On the day, Joe had a big sea of purple there to support him at the sidelines!

In addition to the marathon, Joe also raised additional funds by hosting a very successful club night in London, as well as running a raffle to win a beautiful framed print by The Going Nowhere.

He is also planning to take on the Ride Prudential London-Surrey cycle race for us in August.

Everyone at Canine Partners would like to extend a huge thank you to Joe for his amazing fundraising. The money raised will go towards our mission to transform the lives of people with physical disabilities by pairing them with a specially trained assistance dog.

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

We are always on the lookout for supporters doing amazing things to raise vital funds. Visit our Challenges page to find out more and get in touch.

Petplan Insurance awards us a life-transforming grant of £17,000

The Petplan Charitable Trust, which is funded by annual donations given by customers of Petplan Insurance, has given a life-transforming grant of £17,000 towards the Kennel and Dog Welfare Centre being built this year at the Midlands Training Centre in Leicestershire.

This generous donation will help the charity to build a welfare centre in the Midlands that will house up to 40 dogs at one time while they undertake their advanced training to become a qualified Canine Partners assistance dog.

The centre will also include a veterinary room, a laundry room, food store, kitchen area, canine shower and outdoor runs. The building has been designed so that an isolation area can be created and a regular deep clean can be carried out to minimise the risk of infection.

Chief executive, Nicola Martin, said: “Being one of the leading assistance dog charities in the UK, our dogs’ welfare is of paramount importance and the support of the Petplan Charitable Trust means that many more dogs will go through training, in a more efficient, fit-for-purpose centre which will be a flagship for assistance dog training across the UK.”

“We are immensely grateful for this exceptional support from the Petplan Charitable Trust, which will ultimately enable the charity to help many more people who will benefit from having one of our specially trained dogs. This donation will serve the charity, its dogs, and the people it helps, for many years to come.”