 After three months of hard work, the CSV Action Desk at BBC Radio Stoke has raised well over 1500 old mobile phones! That means we will finally get to meet our very own guide dog that will go on to make a huge difference to the life of a blind or visually impaired person. But, we couldn't have done it without the help of the hundreds of our listeners who've donated their old phones to our appeal. Every day, phones have been flooding into BBC Radio Stoke keeping Sheila our receptionist extremely busy. How Did It All Begin? We were originally approached by Guide Dogs For The Blind who asked if we could help promote their appeal for old phones. We thought we can go one better than that! and decided to launch our very own campaign. The response has been fantastic and we are in fact well on the way towards raising enough phones for a second dog! So, you heard it here first don't give up on us - we still need those out-of-date mobiles and maybe we can raise enough to fund another dog. Making A Difference WE DID IT!!! |  | Last updated: October 2005 |
You'll hear the phrase 'making a difference' all the time from the CSV Action Desk team, and a guide dog is an obvious example! To someone who is blind or visually impaired, having a guide dog can give a new lease of life. Suddenly you have freedom to go where and do what you please without having to rely on another person to help.
It's impossible to understate the difference this makes to someone! Far and Wide It would seem that our appeal has reached even further than we could have guessed. A postcard to the Kevin Fernihough show demonstrates that people were thinking of us even while they were on holiday!! House-brick The appeal is obviously a serious one with a clear benefit to whoever will eventually get our guide dog but it's not been without humour either!!
We began to notice one or two of phones that were coming our way were - shall we say - on the rather large side!
One phone in particular dates back to the 1980's and it's huge!! We went out and about in Hanley to see if anyone would swap our house-brick for their modern phone.
We rather thought its retro-chic looks would persuade someone - but the answer was a resounding NO!!!! Guide Dog Training Centre
The CSV Action Desk at BBC Radio Stoke have been busy persuading people to part with their old mobile phones. For each phone received, £3.50 goes towards the enormous cost of training a dog.
 To find out a little more about where the money goes, CSV Action Desk Producer, Jim Salveson hopped on a train to Leamington Spa and paid a visit to the Guide Dog Training Centre. He was asked to take part in training one of the dogs, so he donned his blindfold and had a go at their obstacle course!
It takes about ten minutes to complete the course and at the end of it, Jim had a clear idea of just how much work goes into training these special dogs.
 CLICK HERE to listen to Jim's story... |
Still Going Strong We might have reached our target but we're so impressed by the response from our listeners that we're just going to keep on collecting.
The numbers 01782 221225 and were looking forward to hearing from you...
So, as long as you keep bringing 'em in, we'll take them! Who knows, we might even raise enough for another dog!!
Dave Hamer | 
