Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind…Transition Year Programme
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind…Transition Year Programme
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, believe the students who participate in our Transition Year (TY) Programme are potential future members of our community of Staff, Puppy Raisers, Temporary Boarders and Community Volunteers.
This year two Transition Year students, Ciara Petit Mee ,and Lolo O Donnell are participating in the on line Programme. It takes place between Monday, January 23rd and Friday , January 27th .There will be an opportunity for other Ty students to complete this course over the next few weeks.
This is what Ciara and Lola had to say of their experience.
We started this course with the Irish Guide Dogs course on the Monday,23rd of January. The course ran between 10 and 12.30 .Four out of five days of this course were online and the fifth, and final day is in person in the Guide Dog Centre which is situated in Ballincollig. We learnt about the different strands of work that is carried out in the “Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind Programme”. We first learnt about corporate partnership then, dog care and welfare and breeding.During this time we met the client services team and also learnt about disability rights and community awareness, puppy raising etc.
We met a wide range of employees who work in the centre, who talked to us about the duties and joys of their job. We also spoke with a woman who is partially blind. We found this very interesting as it was cool to see how she used her guide dog “Humphrey” in her everyday life. She talked to us about the advantages she has noticed since she had had “Humphrey”. She shared a personal story about how she walked into a ladder and fell in a bush and couldn't get up. This is why we want to raise awareness and raise money to donate to the Irish Guide Dogs For The Blind Programme, as we feel it doesn't get the attention it deserves.
The Irisg Guid Dog Association have developed an interactive programme which aims to inspire students to consider a career with us or to support our work raising awareness and funds so they too can make a difference to others and change lives!
At the end of the week, each student will have a greater understanding of:
the welfare of our dogs and what that entails;
the services and support we provide to our Clients;
the Technical training and what that involves;
the structure, governance, funding and running of a charity; and
how to undertake a fundraising event.
Programme Schedule
Day 1 – Dogs
Meet our Dog Care and Welfare team who manage the care of our training dogs and look after all dogs onsite in our Training Centre kennels.
Find out about our Volunteers who care our pups in the first weeks of their lives.
Day 2 – Clients
Hear from our Guide Dog and Assistance Dog owners as they explain how their lives have changed since receiving their dog.
Day 3 – Training
How does a Guide Dog keep their owner safe from cars, walking onto road or walking into people or objects? Our trainers will explain how they train our dogs, how they decide which dogs will make the grade, and critically how they match the right dog to the right person to give each partnership the best chance of success.
Day 4 – Resources
It costs over €5 million to run our organisation each year and 85% is dependent on the generosity of the public.
Our Fundraising team will explain how they work with our network of nationwide Branches to raise awareness and fundraise through various events and activities.
Day 5 – Visit our Training Centre
At the end of the week they will welcome each TY student to visit their Training Centre in Cork. There they will meet the team and plenty of dogs and get hands on experience of the work that is carried out . The students will also be awarded certificates for completion of this TY Programme.
Students will also be invited to attend the Open Day in the Training Centre which takes place in August.