Over the last 4 years Ludlow Dog Day has distributed over £70,000 to a range of charities and community organizations. This year the money raised will be split 4 ways between Hope House Hospice for Children, St Michael’s Hospice Hereford, the Shrewsbury branch of Guide Dogs for the Blind and Ludlow Rotary Club’s local initiative, Ludlow Rotary Cares. Ludlow Rotary Club President, Angus Kerr, said “We are very pleased to be forming a longer term relationship with three excellent major charities which have local presence. The remainder of our charity spend will go to smaller local community organizations which will have an opportunity to bid to Ludlow Rotary Cares later in the year.  We are hopeful that we shall get the same great support from our sponsors as we have had in previous years so that we can have another very successful Ludlow Dog Day on 22 July 2018.”

The major charities selected are:

 Hope House Hospice is a vital support for both local children, who are not expected to live longer than early adulthood, and their families. They offer a range of services including respite and end-of-life care at their two hospices and/or within the family home, and counselling support for the children, young people and family members for as long as is needed. A rapidly expanding part of Hope House’s work is providing specialist bereavement support to families in the community whose child has died through a sudden accident or illness. Their aim is that no family should face the death of a child alone. As a registered charity, they need to raise over £6.3 million this year to make sure they can carry on being here for all the children and families who need them. www.hopehouse.org.uk

St Michael’s Hospice is an independent local charity dedicated to the support of patients and their families affected by a terminal illness. They offer a wide and increasing range of services to enable people to continue living as well as they can with their illness. All of their services are provided free of charge to anyone, regardless of their background. Care is provided on the Hospice’s Inpatient Ward, in its Day Services building or in the comfort of a patients’ own home. St Michael’s care is open to the whole of Herefordshire, and south Shropshire. A generous band of supporters help make this possible by setting-up their own fundraising activities or taking part in the Hospice’s numerous events. For for more details see www.st-michaels-hospice.org.uk

Guide Dogs Ludlow Supporter Group are based at the regional centre for the national charity Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. The regional centre has been delivering Guide Dogs’ services in Staffordshire, Shropshire and the Black Country for over 10 years and their current guide dog owner base is 225 partnerships and they continue to see guide dog activities grow. The organisation is committed to helping people who are blind or partially sighted to lead more independent lives by promoting the most appropriate method of mobility assistance to meet their needs. Additionally, Guide Dogs is becoming more active in campaigning locally to promote the rights of people who are blind or partially sighted. www.guidedogs.org.uk

Ludlow Rotary Cares is run annually by Ludlow Rotary Club and provides small grants to help charities and organizations within 15 miles of Ludlow to make a real difference in their community. Since the scheme started 3 years ago over 36 grants of up to £500 have been made. www.ludlowrotaryclub.org.uk

You can keep up to date with developments and plans for Ludlow Dog Day 2018 via our website, following us on FaceBook and Twitter or by signing up for our e-newsletters.

Join us at Ludlow Dog Day 2018 on July 22nd at Stokesay Court for a fun day out for dogs and their owners.

24/02/2018