Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Hi All,

On 26^th April 2015 I will be running the London Marathon for Guide Dogs UK! This will be my first attempt at the London Marathon and I am humbled to have been one of the few runners selected to run for the Guide Dogs UK team.

How much do you know about Guide Dogs UK? Well, they are a truly unique charity and one that I find particularly moving. Close your eyes for a moment, attempt to pick up a pen and write a sentence; attempt to get up out of your chair and walk to the other side of the room; attempt to eat a full meal. These are simple tasks but ones which the visually impaired struggle with every day. Now think about how difficult it would be to walk to the shops in the morning, buy a paper, cross the road, catch a bus. A lack of sight can restrict a human being in ways many of us could never conceive, and this is where Guide Dogs UK comes in.

This phenomenal charity trains dogs with the right mentality from an early age to be a Guide Dog. This is not just a dog, this is your visual aid, as much a part of you as your right arm. A Guide Dog is your sight, your companion, your friend. You place all your trust in his/her judgements and accept what they ask you to do. How incredible is that.

Guide Dogs UK pledge that once partnered with a Guide Dog, you will be partnered for life. They may have to provide up to 8 Guide Dogs for every 1 human lifetime but the partnership between Guide Dogs UK and the owner and the Guide Dog lasts indefinitely. It costs around £30,000 to train a Guide Dog over a number of years and a further £20,000 to upkeep it once paired. £50,000... is this too much to ask for the opportunity to give someone something so similar to sight that they can live a normal life rich with vibrant experiences and travels they would never have been able to attain without? I think not.

Guide Dogs UK needs your help, to continue to raise and train new puppies for more pairings. To help rehabilitate Guide Dogs that get attacked – recently the number of Guide Dogs being attacked has risen sharply. These are Dogs trained to be loving, caring and calm and subsequently are prime targets for vicious dogs not so well loved.

Can you imagine walking home and hearing the sound of your closest companion being attacked, being in pain, getting hurt and not being able to see the situation and act in the manner you wish with all your strength you were able to.  I can’t, it’s too unbearable and this is why I implore you to donate whatever you can to this quite remarkable charity.

I had a dog, Cosmo. Though I have my sight, those of you who have or have had dogs will know of the strength of the connection you can build up with them. How strong must this connection be with a Guide Dog?

I have a pledge; by the day of the Marathon on the 26^th April 2015 I must raise £2,000 for Guide Dogs UK. I have given my word to do so and I would like to surprise them by raising more. Please help me to do this. Anything will help. I love this charity, I really do and I think that training a Dog to love and care for a human whilst also giving them something so close to sight is breathtaking. Let’s keep this charity going, let’s help it expand, and let’s give more people who are visually impaired a soul mate they can really place their trust in and who in return will give them opportunities that the rest of us take for granted.

Thank you for all your help and support, below is a link to the Guide Dogs UK website, specifically to a dog called Herbie. Herbie is a beautiful young Dog who I have supported from birth and who will make a magnificent Guide Dog once he has completed his training. He turned 1 on the 6^th October 2014.

http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/microsites/sponsor-a-puppy/gallery/gallery-herbie

Ben Wilberforce-Ritchie.