Guide Dogs UK are looking for Sheffield volunteers for driving promotion

A guide dog charity worker has appealed for volunteers to come forward to care for pups or raise funds, saying the group “couldn’t do without them”.

Daniel Swain, from Sheffield, started losing his sight aged 15 due to a genetic condition affecting the optic nerve.

He said it was thanks to charities such as Guide Dogs UK that he was able to “overcome” his condition – and is now a volunteer co-ordinator for its Sheffield branch.

Guide Dogs UK is urging helpers to come forward as part of the national Big Help Out volunteering campaign.

Volunteer opportunities include being a puppy raiser, which means caring for a young dog for 12-16 months and guiding them through training, socialization and new experiences.

Meanwhile, dog handlers look after the animals in the evenings and on weekends while they train.

Mr Swain said: “At Guide Dogs we have around 15,500 volunteers across the UK, they play an incredibly important role in our work.

“We couldn’t do what we do without them.”

Guide Dogs UK said: “We have all sorts of roles for volunteers and they all help us support people with sight loss to live the life they choose.

“We would love to welcome new volunteers to our community.”

According to the charity’s figures last year, the national average waiting time to get a guide dog was 16 months.

However, 37% of people who were matched between October 2022 and October 2023 had been waiting for less than a year, the charity said.