Ford Ireland continue partnership with Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind
FORD Ireland has renewed its partnership with Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Ford has been a partner of the nationwide charity from soon after the charity was established in 1976. Working across the country, Irish Guide Dogs is dedicated to helping people who are vision impaired and families of children with autism to achieve improved mobility and independence.
Speaking at the announcement of the partnership renewal, Ciarán McMahon, Chairman and Managing Director of Ford Ireland, said: ‘We are hugely proud of the long-standing partnership with Irish Guide Dogs – the charity’s work is literally life-changing for the hundreds of people throughout the country who have a Guide or Assistance Dog that has been trained by Irish Guide Dogs. We are delighted to support the staff and volunteers at Irish Guide Dogs in the valuable work they do.
Participating in the launch of the Ford partnership renewal were two new puppies, Henry and Ford, named in honour of Ford’s ongoing support of the charity. Henry and Ford are two of the latest ‘intake’ of puppies who will be trained as Guide or Assistance Dogs by the charity. It takes a full two years of full-time training for a dog to become a Guide or Assistance Dog. Guide and Assistance Dogs then go on to work for an average of eight years. It costs approximately €38,000 to breed, train and support a single working dog for the duration of its working life.
Padraig Mallon, CEO, of Irish Guide Dogs, said: ‘We are hugely indebted to Ford for their continued support of our work. It is a great opportunity to partner with a highly respected brand which is known and loved across the country. Ford will help us greatly in generating the funds we need in order to create life changing opportunities for people who are vision impaired and families of children with autism. Ford have given us the practical support we need with our fleet, our car raffle and with our marketing and it’s great that the Ford team are fully committed to the work we do!’