At the start of this year, we announced our chosen charity of the year, Guide Dogs. The goal was to raise £10,000 so that we can support someone with sight loss to live a more fulfilling life with the assistance of their very own guide dog. Now, 11 months later, we are delighted to announce a total of £10,620 has been raised for the charity.
Why did we choose this charity?
Guide Dogs heavily relies on donations to continue its life-changing work, which makes a real difference in the lives of adults and children living with sight loss.
Almost two million people in the UK are living with sight loss which has a significant impact on their daily lives. Of those, around 180,000 rarely leave their homes alone and lead lonely, isolated lives.
Guide Dogs works for a world where people with sight loss are never left out of life, for a world where being blind or partially sighted is not what defines you. A world with enough support to make the challenges of sight loss no barrier to fulfilling hopes and dreams.
Felicity Stratton, Community Fundraising Relationship Manager for Guide Dogs, said:
It costs approximately £54,800 to support a guide dog from birth to retirement and Guide Dogs relies almost entirely on donations to keep its life-changing services running. We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone at Air IT for choosing to support us and we look forward to sharing the news of Air’s safe arrival soon.
Our journey to £10,000
Our journey to raise funds started with a straightforward objective, which was to bring about a positive change in the lives of those who depend on the crucial services provided by Guide Dogs.
Throughout the year, we have organised a range of fundraising activities, including charity client events, bake sales, competitions, and personal donations. As a result of these efforts, we have successfully raised £10,620 to name and sponsor a puppy ‘Air’ through the charity’s Name a Puppy scheme.
The funds raised by Air IT were made possible with the introduction of our Charity and Community Employee Resource Group, an integral part of our ESG journey. Further support was given throughout the year by Brian Little, an industry veteran and close friend of Air IT who now dedicates his time to raising vital funds for Guide Dogs having lost his vision a few years ago.
Brian Little, a volunteer fundraiser for Guide Dogs commented:
“It’s been an absolute pleasure working closely with Air IT over the past year, having been involved in a number of events such as their annual AirFest, THEBIG50 and other company events including a recent webinar, and working closely with their exceptional sales team. I’m looking forward to following Air’s training journey next year. I’m looking forward to following Air’s training journey next year.
Having had the chance to meet lots of guide dog owners and being severely visually impaired myself (blind), I fully understand the life-changing qualities a guide dog brings to someone.
A personal thank you to the entire Air IT team for their fantastic support and remarkable fundraising efforts. You guys are really making a difference.
What does the £10,000 go towards?
The amount will cover the process from the puppy’s birth to advanced training, until the point of handover where Air will become the eyes and trusted companion of someone with sight loss. We are excited to follow Air’s training journey and will share further updates on their progress.
Thank you to our staff and everyone who has supported our fundraising efforts this year. Stay tuned for more initiatives from Air IT as we continue to give back to our community.
