Guide dog callers bark up right tree

NORTH Yorkshire charity workers transformed their office into a call centre with a difference for the day to ring up more than 12,000 in extra donations.

The Stokesley office for Guide Dogs for the Blind became the hub for a Get Dialling event, with volunteers and staff phoning local businesses to ask if they could take a collection box.

Fundraiser Louise Parker said: “There was a real buzz in the office, and it got very competitive as we were keeping a running total on a flip chart. But it was also great to get such a positive response.”

By the end of the day the Stokesley office had placed more than 80 new collection boxes, and the number is still rising. With an average of 32 per box per year, over the first year that should mean local guide dog volunteers will collect an extra 2,400, rising to 12,000 over five years.

Ms Parker added: “We are always looking for more collection box co-ordinators, details of the role can be found on the charity’s website.”

Guide dog staff, volunteers and dogs will be in Northallerton Town Hall today and Captain Cook Square in Middlesbrough tomorrow.