National Lottery Community Fund

Pets As Therapy wants to say a big thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund for giving us £10,000 to help our charity grow numbers, diversity and skills.

Research has highlighted that we need new volunteers to meet demand in the North, South East and South West — these areas have the longest waiting lists — so we will use the grant to help us recruit PAT Teams and give them, and our existing 4,348 volunteers, the support they deserve.

Clare Davis, CEO of Pets As Therapy, says; “We want to provide an exceptional local volunteering experience, supporting and training volunteers and matching the right people and their dogs with the most suitable establishments and beneficiaries, ensuring long and sustainable relationships. This grant from the National Lottery Community Fund will help us to train volunteers to work within specific areas, for example completing a safeguarding or mental health first-aid course. 

“Additionally, we will monitor and evaluate volunteer feedback, so that we can keep improving and offering what they most need, ensuring their satisfaction and wellbeing. We are also working with university partners to develop robust measurement tools suitable for our volunteers to use in all settings. This will help inform the immediate and long-term benefits of PAT interactions more systematically.”

We are always looking to recruit more volunteers.

You can find more info here