A guide dog could change the life of a blind or partially sighted person, and Guide Dogs is committed to providing this amazing opportunity to as many people as possible.

Age is no barrier. There's no upper age limit. People in their seventies, eighties and nineties have become successful guide dog owners. The lower age limit for guide dog ownership has been removed, and Guide Dogs is now working with children and young people under the age of 16.

Guide dogs aren't just for the blind. You don't need to have lost all your sight, most people who own a guide dog still have some vision. You don't have to be officially registered as blind or partially-sighted either.

Guide dog users don't need to worry about the cost of keeping a dog. Guide Dogs recognise that the costs of owning a guide dog may not be easy for everyone to manage. All the essential equipment is provided free of charge and financial assistance is provided,if needed, for things like food or veterinary costs.

Training is provided. No previous experience of keeping or caring for a dog is necessary. If you are committed and able enough to support and care for a guide dog, the Guide Dogs training programme will teach you all you need to know.

The Rotary Club of Sovereign Harbour was inaugurated in 2009 and received its Charter in July 2010.


The club meets at 7.00 for 7.30pm, for a meal and fellowship, every Tuesday evening, at Simply Italian on the Sovereign Harbour Waterfront.

Being a new club, and the vast majority of members being new to Rotary, there were few preconceived ideas about the way in which the club should operate. The members were very keen that the club should operate within the established ethos of Rotary International, but there was a desire to “break the mould” by making club meetings as informal as possible.

One of the first decisions taken was that there should be no formal “dress code” other than that attire should be “smart casual” and in keeping with the venue.

In the early days of Rotary clubs, there were no female members. The members of the Rotary Club of Sovereign Harbour, however, were very keen from the outset that membership should be open to all, and that female members should be actively sought. As a result, almost half of the members are women.

 

Harbour Walk
Fundraising for Guide Dogs


Participants in the 2012 Harbour Walk were accompanied by a number of Guide Dogs and their owners, so we thought it only right that walkers should be encouraged to bring their dogs along . . . . . . and get them sponsored too.

Walkers were also be joined by Eastbourne's MP, Stephen Lloyd, and the Mayor of Eastbourne, Cllr. Carolyn Heaps, and mascots Barnaby Bee and Sammy Sunshine.

Over 100 walkers and over 40 dogs took part in the walk. It was not a competition; there were no prizes for winning, it was a gentle stroll around the marina, which started at midday, and finished at about 1-1.30pm, just in time for lunch at the beautiful Sovereign Harbour Waterfront.

Click here for more photographs.
©Ian Weeks and ©Gordon Jenkins

Last year's walk raised £3,500 for Help for Heroes.

It was decided that this should become an annual event so, on 22nd April 2012, the walk was held again, but this time in aid of the "Guide Dogs for the Blind" charity.