"Having a guide dog gave me the mobility and confidence I needed to complete secondary school and go on to university to pursue my dream of becoming a Barrister. He was with me every step of the way and I attribute all my successes, whether small or big to him.  Today, with Gola by my side, I am independent and can live my life to the full, both professionally and personally."
Barrister, Martin Gordon

A gift in your will is a priceless gift

The support of a guide dog for a blind or vision impaired person or an assistance dog for a family of child with autism is priceless. The cost of running the organisation is however quite significant - over €4 million each year.

More than 80% of our income comes from fundraising and voluntary donations. We rely on the support of our fundraising volunteers and the generosity of the public in order to deliver our services. We are also fortunate to receive a number of gifts from supporters who have passed on and had the kindness to remember Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind in their will. 

Over the years, these bequests have helped us to develop our facilities and support the expansion of our services. The foresight and kindness of the people who remembered us in their will is the rock on which we have built our future.

Your gift will leave behind a living legacy

Your gift creates a living legacy in the form of a guide or assistance dog - a life changing partner that continues to improve the quality of life of its owner each and every day.  

Claire Hawkins describes the life changing impact Gandon, their Assistance Dog, has had on her whole family.

"Gandon has had a remarkable impact on our lives, not only for AJ, but for us as a family. We can now all go out together, something we could rarely do before. With Gandon's help, I don't have to stress about AJ's safety and we can all enjoy normal things like going to the shops or a walk in the park.  With Gandon by his side, AJ is a much more confident little boy.  I always say that Gandon has given us AJ back - it's incredible."

Talk to us

If you are considering making a bequest to Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind in your will, we would be happy to discuss this with you. You're welcome to visit our National Headquarters and Training Center in Cork to meet some of our staff and get a better understanding about what we do.  All our classes are run from this location and our dogs in training are based there too.

Contact Neil Munday on lo-call 1850 506 300 or e-mail legacy@guidedogs.ie.  We would be happy to answer any query you may have to help you with your decision.

Making a will  

Once you have made a decision to leave a gift in your will, it is simple to implement. With a little help from a solicitor, a clause in your will in favour of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind will ensure that your gift will reach us at a future date. Through your generosity, we will help people achieve independence and a better quality of life.

If you'd like to know more about the types of gifts you can leave in your will, click here.

• To view our brochure as a PDF document, click here (669kbits)
• To view our brochure as a Microsoft Word document, click here .