Jump, doggone it, for Chippenham and Calne branch of Guide Dogs for the blind (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Jump, doggone it, for Chippenham and Calne branch of Guide Dogs for the blind

7:00am Saturday 6th February 2010

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Care worker Hayley Neal has found the courage to jump 12,000ft from a plane after seeing how much blind people benefit from their guide dogs.

Miss Neal, 31, has been a volunteer with Chippenham and Corsham branch of Guide Dogs For The Blind since last May and wanted to make a bold gesture to raise its profile.

She raised £350 in sponsorship and, following the jump on Saturday, said: “I was very apprehensive. I did not know what to expect and it was a bit like a dream.

“When I was about to jump out I thought ‘what am I doing?’, but then it was the most fantastic feeling.

“It was worth it to raise money for the charity, and I would definitely do it again.”

Miss Neal, of Atworth near Melksham, is a care worker at Royal United Hospital and has seen how people with poor sight benefit from guide dogs.

She said: “When I was at university I had friends with sight problems, and I saw how difficult it was for them.

“I also used to work at Bath library and I saw quite a few people coming in with guide dogs.

“A guide dog can help someone’s life in so many ways.

“There are quite a few people I have met who could not live without their dogs.”

Miss Neal hopes to encourage supporters to volunteer with the Chippenham and Corsham branch and to help raise the £45,000 it costs to train a guide dog.

For more information about the Chippenham branch, call George McCaffrey on (01249) 701262 or Janet Smith on (01249) 782489.

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