Guide Dogs For The Blind Npo

Guide Dogs for the Blind

Abstract

Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc has a rich history dating back to 1942 in which they have provided thousands of people with guide and service dogs to lead a more independent life. The purpose of this organization is to help blind people between the United States and Canada to obtain a guide dog if qualified. This service is free to the participants and family. Guide Dogs for the Blind are involved from start to finish. It begins at breeding the puppies with the most desirable traits to finding homes for the retired guide dog and replacing the dog with another. This organization is recognized as an ONPO. It does not receive any governmental funding, and relies on donations, bequests, and volunteers to continue to operate.

CONTENTS

Page

Introduction 4

History 5

Purpose 7

Type of Organization 9

Financial Resources and Statement Facts 9

References 11

Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc

Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc is a not for profit organization that has been helping people legally blind for over 50 years. They began with only a few members dedicated to helping World War II men that were blind, and now have thousands of volunteers, donors, and staff. Guide Dogs for the Blind have seen legislations passed through the years to protect and recognize the services provided by guide dogs. With two locations, Guide Dogs have graduated thousands of partnerships between human and animal.

The purpose of this organization is to provide independence to people with disabilities. Providing a disabled person with a guide or service dog allows them a freedom they might not have known. A guide dog will help maneuver through cities, malls, and buses. It is the mission of Guide Dogs for the Blind to provide qualified candidates between the US and Canada a guide dog. Services to a qualified person are free of charge. This organization is one of few that follow the process start to finish.

The financial resources of this organization include donations, gifts, bequests, and trusts. Most of the funds received are unrestricted, but are invested in providing services throughout the life of the person requiring services. There are a percentage of funds that are temporarily restricted by the donor to go to certain areas of the organization. In addition, there are an amazing amount of hours that are dedicated to this organization, but as it is volunteered time, they are not valued on the financial statements.

History

Guide dog programs began as early as the First World War. A woman named Dorothy H Eustis wrote an article that was published in the Saturday Evening Post about guide dogs. Of course at this time, it was only speculation that a dog could be trained to be a guide to someone legally blind. Germany was the first to start these programs to help soldiers, and Great Britain did the same five years later. The United States began their first guide dog program in 1929. This was in New Jersey under The Seeing Eye. On the other side of the world and ten years later, Guide Dogs for the Blind found their first dog that would become a guide dog.

In 1941, co-owners Don Donaldson and Lois Merrihew found Blondie, a German Shepard. She was rescued from the Human Society in Pasadena and trained by volunteers to go to a serviceman. In that same year, Don & Lois went to several different organizations, and finally one that would help finance and grow Guide Dogs. The American Women’s Voluntary Services played a large role in getting Guide Dogs started and in becoming successful. Representatives of AWVS became members and voted other to the board, filling in positions of chairperson and president.

A few more German Shepards were donated in 1942 and within that year, 9 students graduated with their guide dogs. In the ensuing years, a puppy raising program was established to be able to breed with the type of dogs that would make great guide dogs. These dogs would demonstrate intelligence, stable temperament, and proportionate size to be a working dog. Proportionate dogs will not be to large to handle or require excessive grooming of a disabled person. They will also be friendly, but obedient. Breeds chosen more often are Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retriever/Lab mixes and German Shepards. The effort to begin raising a breed of puppies was assisted by the California 4-H program.

Federal law had not caught up with Guide dog program efforts, and it was during this time many states began legislation to protect guide dogs and the disabled. In 1947 California established programs to license instructors to be able to train guide dogs. Two of Guide Dogs for the Blind’s members were the first two to be licensed by the state of California. Service and guide dogs are also protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the Air Carrier Access Act and the Fair Housing Act. The federal and state laws say that a person with a disability cannot be discriminated against in any public place. Further, any disabled person with a service or guide dog may enter any public area with their dog even if no pets are allowed in the business store or area. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires business owners to make an exception, since a guide dog is not considered a pet, but a highly trained and certified animal.

In 1948, Guide Dogs for the Blind obtained an eleven acre property to be used for the training of the guide dogs, puppy raising, and the training of the students with the guide dogs. The building was designed to house 8 students at a time, and it was the following year that the 100th class graduated from the GDB. On the 25th anniversary, the property located in San Rafael, CA, was expanded to be able to house 16 students at one time.

Guide Dogs are credited as the first in the United States to present a program that will retrain students or dogs to graduate as a team. On the 50th anniversary of the GDB, President George Bush extends an invitation to the White House and celebrates with Guide Dogs for the achievements they have made. That same year, 1992, programs to educate people working with the blind are established. Over the next ten years, a new campus is opened in Oregon, the 10,000th team graduates, and Hawaii is opened to guide dog access. It is