February 2007, West Sussex:
Mirfield man and his Canine Partner receive corporate support
Canine Partners (Registered Charity No. 803680), a charity specialising in providing highly trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities, is today praising the ongoing support of the Zurich Community Trust. Funding from Zurich has helped George Gough from Mirfield, who is quadriplegic, to gain back much of his independence thanks to his Canine Partner Valentino.
George, 48, broke his neck in a car accident in 1986, which resulted in paralysis from the chest down. “I first found out about Canine Partners four years ago and the rest is history,” comments George. “When I first met Valentino at the day assessment course, he chose me and we worked together as a team right away. Having Valentino keeps me occupied and motivated – he is a daily tonic! He is very well known in our village and puts a smile on everyone’s faces.; However, for me he is vital as he carries out so many tasks such as passing me my mobile phone, picking up anything I drop, helping at the supermarket checkout and even undoing the Velcro straps on my wheelchair foot pedals in preparation for my transfer into bed.”
The Zurich Community Trust has been supporting Canine Partners for almost 7 years. The £245,000 spent over that time has gone towards the following worthwhile activity:
- Dog training
- Senior Trainer salaries
- After care support
- Staff training
- New charity DVD
- Re-development of charity website
Karen O’Donoghue of Canine Partners reflects on the relationship, “The support we have received from Zurich has significantly aided us in training more dogs to help people with disabilities in everyday tasks such as picking up dropped items, shopping and crossing the road. However, it goes above and beyond just funding as we have forged a strong ongoing relationship with Zurich’s Community Trust through staff volunteering such as painting and decorating, gardening and stewarding of events; through to assistance for the charity in the sharing of business skills.”
Steve Grimmett, Senior Programme Manager of the Zurich Community Trust comments, “Supporting charity’s such as Canine Partners reinforces our corporate aim of helping the community. Our staff have developed a real affinity with Canine Partners over the past 7 years and are constantly amazed at the change a Canine Partner can bring to the life of a person with disabilities.”
For further information on Canine Partners please visit www.caninepartners.co.uk or call 08456 580480.
About Canine Partners:
Officially launched in 1990, Canine Partners enables people with disabilities to enjoy greater independence and a better quality of life through the help of specially trained dogs.
Training assistance dogs to transform the lives of people with disabilities enriches human life in practical ways such as dressing and undressing, supermarket shopping and vital emergency response procedures. In addition it provides physiological, psychological and social benefits that help keep people healthy and happy.
As a registered charity Canine Partners receives no government funding and is wholly dependant on public donations and legacies.
For further information on fundraising, donations, volunteering or applying for a Canine Partner, please call 08456 580480 or visit www.caninepartners.co.uk.
About Zurich's Community Trust
Zurich’s Community Trust, a registered charity funded by pre-tax profits and donations from its people, provides an umbrella for all Zurich’s community involvement in the UK.
Zurich Community Trust manages and matches Zurich employees' and financial advisers' £1 million donations, 46,000 hours of volunteering including 196 annual team challenge activities involving over 1,600 staff.
Zurich's Community Trust Programmes create sustainable change through long-term funding and active employee involvement. Zurich works closely with innovative partners to significantly impact the lives of disadvantaged people in the UK and overseas. The Programmes tackle the most vulnerable older people’s issues, our Breaking the Cycle programme works with families to break the generational cycle of harm of drug addiction and we are just announcing a NEW programme supporting families with a mental health issue. In addition, there is a programme in southern India with personal development opportunities for employees. In 2006 over 600 charities and 17 community partners were supported.
Visit Zurich’s website on www.zurich.org.uk for more details.
