Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind has been designated Aurivo’s charity of the year for 2021 under the co-operative’s social responsibility programme.

Aurivo employees will organise a series of fundraising events to generate much-needed funds for the charity’s work in providing guide dogs for the visually impaired.

The charity requires €5m annually to continue to deliver its vital services to those affected by blindness at no direct cost to the service user. Eighty-five per cent of this sum is raised through donations to the charity by individuals and business fundraising efforts.

Funds

“The charity of the year programme allows our staff, members, and customers to work alongside one another in the local community to raise vital funds for our charity partners,” head of human resources at Aurivo Marilyn Phillips commented at the announcement.

“Given our ethos as a co-operative, supporting our local communities is at the heart of our culture, and we’re committed to giving back to the communities in which we operate in,” she said.

Puppy training

Aurivo has committed to fund the training of an Irish Guide Dog for the Blind puppy. This training will allow a guide dog to support a family with a member either blind or with autism.

“By sponsoring the training of one of our puppies, Donal and his team have committed to making a tangible difference by enabling a person who is vision impaired or a family of a child with autism to actively participate in their community,” stated corporate partnerships manager at Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind John Burke.

“We are really looking forward to supporting the Aurivo team and to seeing the pup progress,” the charity worker said.

Charity work

The co-operative has donated €440,000 in funds since the start of its charity programme, raising €40,000 for the Irish Wheelchair Association to purchase a wheelchair accessible bus for the northwest last year.

To find out how to offer support to the vital services provided by Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, click here.