West Lothian nursery helps to lead the way in fundraising for Guide Dogs

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Kids from a West Lothian nursery led the way in a sponsored walk to help raise money to provide a guide dog to those with sight loss.

The youngsters from Rainbow Nursery in Bathgate had a great day jumping in muddy puddles with their new pooch pals during the walk/toddle at Balbardie Park on Monday.

The children, parents and staff from the nursery picked the Guide Dogs charity to partner with and have already raised over £1000 thanks to the walk.

Chris Collier, a volunteer with Guide Dogs, said: “The charity is here to help people with sight loss live the life they choose through offering life-changing services and support. But we also help build awareness and understanding of sight loss in our communities and throughout society. This is especially important in our nurseries, schools and youth groups. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Rainbow Nursery.

“From having our education experience visit and using our learning resources, this nursery has been helping start important conversations about sight loss and encouraging their children to grow into compassionate members of the community.

“We’re hugely grateful for their fundraising throughout this year and are so pleased to be supporting their sponsored toddle, with our fantastic local group cheering the little ones on as they move, learn, and fundraise for a pawsome cause.

“Those little steps will really make a big impact in supporting Guide Dogs to help people with sight loss now and in the future.

“We’d love to encourage other schools, nurseries and youth groups to take Rainbow Nursery’s lead in becoming such inspiring champions of inclusivity by contacting us at learning@guidedogs.org.uk for more information about our available resources and support.

Karen Kirkwood Assistant Manager at the nursery said: “A huge thank you to everyone who supported our sponsored walk

“It was wonderful to see so many people there supporting such a wonderful cause.”

"We had an initial target of £1000 but it looks like we are going to raise more than that as donations and sponsor money are still coming in.

"It was a wonderful event and we are so proud of everyone who took part.

" It is lovely to have Guide Dogs as our charity of the year and to be able to thank them for their support in making disability meaningful for our children. We have children, family members and staff with a range of disabilities and in order to be fully inclusive we need to support our children to understand the challenges different disabilities bring to individuals and in turn how we can reduce these barriers. This is the first time we have focused on visual impairments and Guide Dogs have been an amazing support. "

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