Guide Dog Appeal makes Foundation’s tail wag

Guide Dog Appeal makes Foundation’s tail wag

The Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind (RNZFB) is well on the way to meeting its full target for the Guide Dog Appeal collection after exceeding its street collection target of $360,000.

The street collection has so far raised $360,224 thanks to the generosity of the public and legions of volunteers, some of whom braved wet weather to collect for guide dogs and other essential services for blind New Zealanders.

The regional street collection totals to date are:

Auckland/ Northland $ 96 950 Waikato $ 9 516 Bay of Plenty $ 21 077 Hawkes Bay $ 18 248 Wellington $ 71 246 Nelson/ Marlborough $ 13 778 Canterbury/ West Coast $ 69 524 Otago/ Southland $ 58 177 National office $ 1 708

Total $ 360 224

The overwhelming response to the direct mailout to Foundation supporters and the maildrop to selected residential letterboxes means that the RNZFB is still processing income from these sources.

As at last Friday, the direct mailout had raised $178,603 and the maildrop had brought in another $27,238 to the Guide Dog Appeal.

This brings the total raised so far to $564,357.

Jeanette Manson, RNZFB Divisional Manager Fundraising says, “Again, the response from guide dog supporters has been fantastic”.

“We want to thank everyone who gave to the appeal, especially the schools and other groups who organised events to raise money to support guide dogs and blind and sight-impaired New Zealanders.”

“We are especially grateful to our volunteers for the time they gave to collect and helping with the organisational workload.”

The money raised will go to Guide Dog Services and other essential RNZFB services that enable blind and sight-impaired people to meet their challenges of sight loss and maintain their independence.

A final total raised during the Guide Dog Appeal will be released next month.

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