Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind
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Mission Statement
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is a non-profit organisation that provides life-changing services to people who are Visually Impaired and to families who have children with Autism throughout the Republic of Ireland.
About This Cause
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is Ireland's National charity dedicated to helping persons who are Blind or Vision Impaired and families of children with Autism to achieve improved mobility and independence. Our Vision A future where persons who are blind, vision impaired and disabled achieve independence and dignity through our world-class dog and ancillary services. Our Mission To provide the highest quality of services in life long partnership with our clients while planning for the future and valuing clients, volunteers and each other. Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind was co-founded in 1976 by the late Mrs. Mary Dunlop and our current President Mr. Jim Dennehy. Mary had been fundraising to send people with vision impairment to the United Kingdom for training with a guide dog. Jim, who had lost his sight 8 years earlier, was the first person in Ireland to train with a long cane & later trained with a guide dog. Jim had travelled to the United Kingdom for his training as there was no organisation in Ireland providing this service. Jim and Mary recognised the need for a service that was based in Ireland and so Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind was formed. We fundraise 85% of our running costs (c. €5,200,000 to run the charity in 2021) & it costs over €53,000 to breed, train and support an Assistance dog for families of children with autism or Guide Dog partnership for a visually impaired individual. It takes 2 years to fully train a Guide or Assistance Dog & the individuals/families do not pay for these dogs. The demand list for these dogs has risen sharply in the past 24 months. This year we aim train 40 Guide dogs & 40 Assistance Dogs for Children with Autism. Our clients represent a very small percentage of the overall population. Our product is the people we train, whether be it a visually impaired client or a family with an autistic child. Like all businesses, we have specialised costs and risks but it is the Irish Guide Dog community’s passion; commitment; sense of equality and determination that allows this very small percentage of people to live a normal life. When you invest €53,000 in the lifetime of a Guide or Assistance Dog, you are not only changing a persons life through the gift of Independence through Mobility, you are also changing a community. The process may only take a few months but the results can lead to a lifetime of change. The Irish Guide Dog community are our clients; our volunteers; our fundraisers; our families; our friends; our staff members; our volunteer Puppy Walkers; our volunteer Breeding Stock holders; our corporate sponsors and the general public that generously give year after year their time; energy and money so that a few can benefit from a life changing experience. Without our community and unsung heroes, we would not be able to provide our essential services. All our services are provided free of charge. We offer our services to people for free to ensure we do not exclude anyone because of lack of income. We offer a lifetime service commitment to our clients. There is no age limit for our clients as our services cover young children to adults in their 80’s and 90’s. We ensure that all the partnerships are working as a team until the day the team is retired. We ensure that we have a new working partnership is ready in time in order to minimise the impact on everyday life and we ensure that our clients skills allow them to lead a normal life.