Guide Dogs to showcase volunteering opportunities at The Ridings as part of The King’s Big Help Out initiative

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

To mark His Majesty The King’s Coronation, Guide Dogs is giving the people of West Yorkshire the chance to find out how they can support people living with sight loss.

Guide Dogs is joining organisations across the country next week to showcase how volunteering can benefit both the local community and those that take part.

The long-term aim is to get more people volunteering who traditionally don’t consider it.

Guide Dogs will be at The Ridings Shopping Centre from 10am to 3pm on Thursday, May 11 where visitors will be able to take part in a series of blindfolded challenges to discover what it might feel like to have a vision impairment, find out more about volunteering opportunities and buy merchandise.

Harry Lloyd-Anderson, Guide Dogs Volunteering Coordinator for Leeds and Sheffield said: “Volunteering opportunities at Guide Dogs are really unique and we’re looking forward to meeting people who may not have considered volunteering for us or have never volunteered before. It’s all about reaching new people.

“We offer over 80 different volunteering opportunities and each one plays an important part in helping us deliver life-changing support to people living with sight loss.

"In West Yorkshire, in addition to our training dog Fosterer volunteering role, we’re particularly in urgent need of new volunteers for our My Sighted Guide service where we partner a volunteer with someone with sight loss so that they can regain that confidence to get out and about in their local community again.

To find out more about Guide Dogs volunteering roles and to apply, click here.