Donation will fund training of two puppies as guide dogs

Sainsbury's Ballymena staff presented a magnificent donation to local members of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Charity.

The group was chosen by customers and colleagues in 2016 and received support from the store for the past year including fundraising and awareness raising.

Customers and colleagues took part in a range of activities to raise money for the charity including in-store cycle, cupcake bake sale and store collections. The money raised will be used to train two new puppies for the blind.

Brian Slattery, Store Manager at Sainsbury’s Ballymena said: “We’ve really enjoyed working with Guide Dogs over the past 12 months. Our customers and colleagues worked really hard to help raise vital funds for the charity and we’re really proud with everything we’ve achieved.”

Lesley Macaulay, Fundraising Development Manager,Guide Dogs added: “We’d like to thank the Sainsbury’s customers and colleagues in Ballymena for their support over the past year. It has made such a difference to the charity and we’re extremely grateful for the donations and awareness we’ve been able to raise.”

At the end of June, customers were given the chance to vote in store and online for the store’s new charity partner with Meningitis Research Foundation receiving the most votes.

The Local Charity scheme is now entering its ninth year and has raised over £13 million to support local charities since 2009.