Welcome back to our Volunteer of the Month series – where we shine a light on our fantastic volunteers and the amazing work they do for us.

This month, we speak to Barry O’Connell who is not only partnered with canine partner Guy but is also a member of our volunteer speaker network. Our volunteer speakers deliver talks to a variety of different groups to spread the word about the work we do. Here Barry shares in his own words his experience of volunteering with us.

Repaying my thanks for my amazing dog

Like every partner, I wanted to repay my deepest thanks for such a world class dog – so I decided to become a volunteer speaker. I wanted to get out there to tell everyone how much their lives would change when you get a canine partner dog.

I remember going to deliver a talk to a MS group around fifty miles from me one Sunday afternoon – a long distance but an afternoon well spent as at the end of the talk three people approached me and my wife to say they were so impressed by the talk and demo that they were going to apply for a dog! The shock and thrill of hearing those words was like being touched by a live wire.

Meeting new people

One of the best things about being a volunteer speaker is meeting so many people. From royalty to local school children, as well as firemen, ambulance men or policemen.

You get the opportunity to deliver talks to lots of different clubs, groups and schools – you would be surprised at how many different types of groups you get to meet! I also enjoy seeing their faces when you and your dog enter the room.

When talking in front of so many different types of groups, the biggest challenge is making sure your talk comes across the way you want it to. It is like painting a picture and you have to think about what colours are going to stand out best. You paint it slowly and when you step back to reflect you want to know it is right and that the audience will go away and tell others about the talk.

When they do tell their friends, family and colleagues you know you have done a very good job. Ideally you want them to keep the image of you and your dog locked in their head. I have had numerous people approach me to tell me they saw a talk I delivered three years before and loved it.

Representing the charity

As a volunteer speaker, you are a representative of the charity and as such you are painting a photo of what others will see. If you are at a Rotary function, you need to be in tip top dress code but if it is a more informal, fun event you can wear a t-shirt as long as you still look neat.

My canine partner Guy also needs to look the part so he will have a tidy up with his smart purple jacket, collar, harness lead and lead flash. When delivering a talk, you are selling the charity and you never know what may come out of somebody meeting you and your dog! Especially when a talk has a particularly great turn out.

Why you should join the Purple Army, too!

As a volunteer speaker, you get to meet some very lovely people and make great friends. But most of all, you are playing a part in bringing people in to understanding the value of having an assistance dog.

By travelling to new venues it is like going on a journey and you never know who you might meet. Some venues are wonderful places. What could be better on a summers day than giving a talk in a garden with afternoon tea afterwards? But don’t come back to me to complain if you did not get that tea!

Volunteering is hard work, but it is well worth it in the end. As a speaker you are the charity – on you may rest a booking for a talk, a school visit or a company wanting to sponsor a partnership. Or maybe it’s Auntie Alice or Uncle Bert leaving their assets to Canine Partners. It could be all because of you and your dog. How many people in daily life could really change something just by saying “I’m Baz and this is my partner Guy, better known as Lord Heyshott”. Of course you then get the questions flowing – “why Lord Heyshott?” then you can tell them how he gets out of the car like royalty, studying the place regally!

Me and my wife used to take around an hour and a half to do our weekly shopping – now we double that length of time because of one jacketed, shiny, happy and healthy dog!

> Find out about becoming a volunteer speaker.

Welcome back to our Volunteer of the Month series – where we shine a light on our fantastic volunteers and the amazing work they do for us.

This month, we speak to Abi Watson, one of our wonderful dog fosterers who care for our dogs over the weekend and longer term care when needed. Here Abi shares in her own words the experience of volunteering with Canine Partners.

The perfect role for us

We first became aware of Canine Partners and the possibility of becoming a weekend fosterer when a friend shared a post on Facebook.  We looked into it and realised that it was the perfect role for us to apply for.

My husband, David, had always grown up with dogs and we would love to have a dog of our own, but we both work full time so it wouldn’t be fair on the dog.  This way we could have the best of both worlds.  Our girls Charlotte and Isla (10 and eight) get the experience of having a dog in the house and all of the fun that goes with it!

We first applied in June 2015 and following our home visit and had our first foster dog Brenda at the end of August.  Since then we have long term fostered four other dogs and done weekend cover for a further 10.

No dog is the same

All of the dogs are unique and have their own wonderful personalities.  We love the fact that we get to see the changes in the dogs over their training period and how their skills develop, whilst they still keep their own individual traits.

It’s great to be able to take the dogs out for walks after we’ve had them a number of weeks and we love nothing more than a family evening with one of the dogs snuggled down at our feet.

Doing more for the charity

For the last year I have volunteered to help the advanced trainers at the Midlands centre coordinate fosterers for the dogs in advanced training.

This is a role I throughly enjoy as it means that I have got to know a lot of fellow fosterers and also get to see the progress of all of the dogs entering advanced training and leaving as fully fledged canine partners.

Fostering has led us to want to do all we can to help raise funds for Canine Partners and to do this I have joined the East Midlands Community fundraising group. I try to attend as many events as I can to raise funds and awareness for Canine Partners. My husband even did Ride London for the charity and raised £1,800! Our girls also get involved and have helped run a stall at their Brownies groups.

Canine Partners has really become a charity that is now part of our family’s way of life …. I’m sure I drive my friends and colleagues crazy telling them about and sharing photos of our wonderful weekend house guests!

Why you should join the Purple Army, too!

I would not hesitate to recommend volunteering for Canine Partners. As a family we have loved every minute of being a foster family for dogs in advanced training.

It gives us the opportunity to have a dog at a time that suits us. It has also meant that our girls are becoming more aware about the difficulties that others face and this gives them a real drive to help the dogs become the best partners that they can.

Everyone within the charity has made us so welcome that you really feel part of the team.

> Find out about becoming a fosterer for dogs

We are thrilled to announce that we have been chosen as one of the three beneficiary charities of the Telegraph’s Christmas Appeal 2017!

The campaign is now live and we were featured in Saturday’s paper to mark the launch. Don’t worry if you missed out on picking up a copy though, as you can read the online version here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/christmas/0/telegraph-christmas-charity-appeal-2017-chosen-charities/

The appeal hopes to raise around £250,000 between the three charities which also include FareShare and Missing People. Expect to see plenty of lovely stories about our amazing partnerships and the work that we do appear online and in print from now until the New Year.

Keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook and Twitter pages as we endeavour to share any of the stories that are featured – and give you the heads up to pick up a copy of the paper when we’re in it! Not only will we make an appearance in their main paper and website pages, but in various Telegraph magazines too.

This is incredible news for the charity, giving us great national exposure and the opportunity raise much needed funds to transform the lives of more disabled people.

We are looking forward to the purple army going out in full force to drive as many donations as possible!

A date for your diary!

On Sunday 3 December, the Telegraph will run their charity phone-in day. This is when you can call a member of the Telegraph staff and make a credit or debit card donation over the phone. Last year, they managed to raise £75,000 for the chosen charities on the phone-in day alone.

Donate online now

Alternatively, you can make a donation online now by clicking the link below. You have the option to donate an amount that is split across all 3 charities, unless you specify otherwise.

Donate online now

For Richard Pendrill, 2017 marks a very important year – the year he turns 80 years old. To mark the occasion he wanted to raise a substantial sum for a charity.

It was the daily walks with his two flatcoated retrievers that inspired him to do a sponsored walk, but this wasn’t any old sponsored walk – he chose to walk all the way from Amberley to Guildford!

As a regular donor to Canine Partners already, Richard decided to raise the funds for us to train more amazing dogs to transform the lives of disabled people. He said:

“I have been a number of times to their demonstrations and also been to talks to Gundog Clubs. A great charity that appeals to me because I love dogs and they help disabled people in a wonderful way.”

Although his birthday is in December of this year, he wanted to take on the challenge in September in order to reduce the chance of bad weather. He was joined by his daughter Susan and son-in-law Nick who both live in Wales.

“The weather was fine, and after telling Nick that the walk would be very flat, we then started to walk uphill towards the South Downs! Luckily for me this part of the walk was not as long, as I could not keep up with Susan who strode off up the hill!”

After a hilly start, the walk continued down into Amberley and the flat part of the walk began. The group covered wet grounds through the Wild Brooks, then drier and firmer footpaths through Pulborough and Billingshurst. By 6:30pm, they had arrived in Loxwood having covered 20 miles.

“It was a lovely walk and although I did apparently slow down near the end – actually Susan and Nick had just sped up! – The day was enjoyable and I didn’t feel too bad!”

Dedicated chauffeur Patricia met the trio and whisked them off for an evening meal at The Limeburners, before driving home to sleep.

The next day, Richard, Susan and Nick were driven back to Loxwood to start day two and the final leg of their walk.

“We left the Canal Centre at 10am and walked the first 5 miles to The Three Compasses pub where we met with a previous business partner from years ago, Derek. It’s an amazing thing that Derek and I did not disappear into the pub!”

The second day of the walk was on more roads and harder surfaces than day one, so by the time they reached Bramley, the group required a comfort stop. Walking into the village, they stopped at The Wheatsheaf and had a pint of shandy to tide them over!

“When the ladies in the pub asked us what we were doing, we explained about the walk and the charity and they gave us a donation of £20 – more than the drinks cost! This was very nice of them”.

After their brief stop, it was time to get moving and complete the last stretch. This was a further 16.5 miles to Guildford, where the group were met by a number of friends at the Britannia pub to celebrate their amazing achievement.

A huge congratulations to Richard, Susan and Nick for completing their sponsored walk and raising an incredible £6,500!

With this money, Richard has chosen to sponsor one of our puppies through the Gift of Independence scheme. Find out more about how you give the Gift of Independence.

Welcome back to our Volunteer of the Month series – where we shine a light on our fantastic volunteers and the amazing work they do for us.

This month, Community Champion Liz Downs from the New Forest supporters group shares her experience of volunteering and fundraising for Canine Partners in her own words.

Discovering Canine Partners

I initially found out about Canine Partners in 2011, when I decided to not send out Christmas cards any more, and instead send money directly to a few charities. I searched on the Internet for some new charities to support and Canine Partners stood out as one to go for!

One thing led to another and I was soon sponsoring a puppy through the My Amazing Puppy scheme. Two years later, when I had just finished doing some other voluntary work, the plea for speakers caught my eye!

I attended speaker training back in 2014, but before I had even done my very first talk, I was asked to deputise for the East Sussex satellite fundraisers at a local dog show in aid of the charity and was given a box of merchandise to sell. After the event I had some left which I took to my mother’s care home and so was born my idea to offer Christmas card sales at other care homes to raise funds.

Getting the word out

Throughout 2015, I capitalised on my local contacts and booked up talks to various local groups to spread the word. I bought myself a notebook computer and a mini projector as well as acquiring a screen through Freegle. With my kit, I could turn up to any venue and deliver a presentation all about Canine Partners and the amazing work they do.

As 2016 rolled round, I moved to a completely new area – New Forest – where I didn’t know anyone and essentially had to start all over again! I was scouring the local press and noticeboards for groups and making contacts. Canine Partners was not well known in the area and with the lead in time for talk booking being about a year, I needed to come up with other ways to do promotion.

I managed to acquire a gazebo, and began booking pitches at local craft fairs and events. Although I do not recommend seven hours standing on New Milton High Street in December (brr!), Canine Partners was beginning to get recognised. Over the past year I have now gathered together a small group of friends to support me as well. Now I can leave the stand and go to the loo at an all day event – hurrah!

Organising my own event

Earlier this year I decided that the time was right to organise my own fundraising event with help from my friends. This culminated in a Canine Partners Quiz Night and Ploughman’s Supper at my local community centre on Friday 13 October. Despite the unfortunate date, it all went really well!

We had 48 quizzers join us for a fun evening which was thoroughly enjoyed by all – and resulted in £306.41 raised to transform lives.

Next up, I have obtained permission from the Forestry Commission to hold a sponsored walk in one of the New Forest enclosures next April – so once I’ve recovered from quizzing, I will need to start planning! On top of that, I have started resurrecting the care homes Christmas card sales again in my new area, and will also be cashing in on my tennis club ladies tennis, coffee and cake morning to raise more vital funds. It’s a busy life for a Community Champion!

Why I do it all

Canine Partners is a wonderful charity and I have learned so much about disability and the difference an assistance dog can make to someone’s life.

I have recently teamed up with Barbara Houston and her amazing canine partner Mungo and we are now doing talks together. I cover the beginning and end of the talk and Barbara covers the partner training and tells everyone what a difference Mungo has made to her life. It still brings tears to my eyes every time I hear her speak.

The need to network and find speaking engagements and sales opportunities has also helped me integrate into my new home area – volunteering is a great way to get into local society and make new friends. If you are thinking of volunteering for Canine Partners…don’t think about it, do it!

It can sometimes be a bit lonely at a local level for a volunteer of a national organisation, but the support is always there from Canine Partners, and at the end of the day it is a really rewarding thing to do. You really can make a difference.

> Find out more about how you can help raise vital funds by visiting our Fundraising section.

Today is National Poetry Day, an annual event that encourages people to enjoy, discover and share poetry! 2017’s theme is “freedom” which is very appropriate for the amazing independence that our dogs can bring to a person with disabilities. Read more about #NationalPoetryDay.

To mark the occasion, we have a fantastic poem to share from Paula Dagger who works for Draycott Nursing & Care, an organisation that have supported Canine Partners for six years and hold an annual carol service to raise much needed funds for us. You can find out about this year’s service and book your tickets here.

Paula has over 20 years experience in the care industry, and first started writing poems for her colleagues’ birthdays before creating her own website to share her work. She even read one of her poems at the 2014 carol service!

Without further ado, here is Paula’s fantastic poem all about the life-changing effect a canine partner can have…

“What did I do without you? my friend, my carer, my boy
If only you knew how you’ve changed my life, it’s filled once more with joy
Many a night I’d cry in bed as I suffered in silent pain
But that all started to slowly ease, when into my life you came

I’d often felt isolated, as people they turned away
Although they were not being mean, they just didn’t know what to say
People would stare and kids would ask, why is she in that chair
But with you next to me, by my side, it’s something I now can bear

Every day was a constant struggle, just to try and tie my shoe
I felt so very frustrated, at what I could no longer do
I’d lost all my independence, I felt I was losing my mind
It seemed that people were pitying me, instead of being just kind

You came to me in the darkest of times when I’d almost given up hope
I didn’t dream for a single minute what you could do with a rope
For we tied it onto so many things, mainly handles on doors
Meaning that now I didn’t have to struggle, when opening my knicker drawers!

I’d always felt so embarrassed, if ever I dropped my keys
A stranger I now do not have to ask, can you pick them up for me please
You fetch the post, put the washing out and put things in the bin
Then you get your food, but it has to be dry, as alas you can’t open a tin

I used to sit at home all day too scared to go out alone
But now you are here, many an hour is spent, outside, just having a roam
We head out to the shops together going on a shopping spree
You pick things from the shelves for us, then carry them home for our tea

When it is time to pay at the til, on the counter you will stand
Passing the cash to the shopkeeper, giving a cheeky lick of his hand
When people approach us I feel so proud as they bend to shake your paw
I’m now happy to chat and talk to strangers, no longer feel shy anymore

You’ve changed my life in so many ways.”

Pictured: Jackie Kennedy with canine partner Kingston

Welcome back to our Volunteer of the Month series – where we shine a light on our fantastic volunteers and the amazing work they do for us.

This month, Kerenza who is partnered with canine partner Whisky shares her experience of volunteering and fundraising for Canine Partners.

Getting crafty for canines

My mum and I love making handmade cards and crafts which we sell at Canine Partners events as well as local craft fairs. Alongside this, I also give talks at Information Sessions, groups and schools. Talking about my life before Whisky came along and how much it has now improved with him by my side.

Volunteering for Canine Partners gives me a great deal of satisfaction knowing I am giving something back to the charity that gave me back my independence. I also get to meet some amazing people and feel like a member of the community. It feels like I have a purpose once again.

I hope that through my volunteering and fundraising, I can help spread the word and raise much needed funds so that another disabled person can benefit from a life changing dog.

Everybody loves Whisky

When out volunteering for the charity, Whisky loves to be involved as much as possible! He loves meeting everyone and spreading the Canine Partners love. He especially enjoys meeting children and the elderly where his gentle nature always makes him a hit.

If I am speaking at an event, he will sit or lay beside my wheelchair, often going to sleep – this is great until he starts snoring! However, at craft fairs and busier events he likes to poke his head out from under the table and keep an eye on things, making sure to say hello to anyone who has stopped to browse our crafts.

Whisky loves interacting and is quite happy to demonstrate his amazing skills, including picking up my purse or keys.

The gift of independence

Getting matched with Whisky was a true gift that has enabled me to blossom and grow outside of the confines of my home where, before he entered my life, I was trapped, unable to go out – frightened, scared and alone.

Volunteering with Canine Partners is my chance to say thank you for giving me my life back, and the fundraising I do helps to give that gift to someone else.

> Find out more about how you can help create more amazing partnerships with our Gift of Independence scheme​.