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Honoured to be voted Australia’s Most Trusted Charity for fifth year in row
The Chief Executive of Guide Dogs SA/NT Aaron Chia has thanked the public for voting Guide Dogs Australia as Australia’s Most Trusted charity for the fifth year in a row.
“This is a humbling honour in our 60th year,” Aaron said. “These honours are all the more special because they are from the public and we know we need to work hard to maintain this trust.
To have maintained this honour for five years is a tribute to all who contribute to Guide Dogs whether that’s staff, volunteers, donors and supporters.”
Guide Dogs was named Australia’s Most Trusted Charity as part of the annual Readers’s Digest Trusted Brands survey, which added the charity category in 2013 and has been awarded to Guide Dogs each year since then.
“We know we hold this honour in trust and will do all we can to ensure we continue to provide trusted care that maintains this public recognition,” Aaron said. “It has been a privilege for the organization to serve it”s community and help people reach their individual goals.”
Guide Dogs in SA is the original provider of Guide Dogs in South Australia and took the lead in expanding services including being the first Guide Dog School in Australia to train Autism Assistance Dogs. Guide Dogs SA/NT is #morethan dogs and also provides independent advice and strategies for people living with hearing loss as well as white canes, mobility and independent living skills.
“Every day, 28 Australians are diagnosed with sight loss, including nine who become blind, and without the ongoing trust and support of the community, we would not be able to continue our important work,” said Aaron.
It is estimated that by 2020, one million Australians will be vision impaired, with 100,000 becoming blind. Currently only one in four people who need a Guide Dog has one.
ABOUT THE READER’S DIGEST SURVEY: The Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands survey was independently conducted by Roy Morgan Research and included a cross-section of 2,450 Australian participants. The survey has been conducted annually for 18 years, with the charity category being included from 2013.
ABOUT GUIDE DOGS AUSTRALIA
Guide Dogs Australia is the trading name of Royal Guide Dogs Australia which is the national organisation comprised of the state and territory based Guide Dogs organisations across Australia. Together these organisations are leading providers of both guide dogs and orientation and mobility services assisting Australians with vision impairment. Their services include Guide Dogs, mobility training with long canes and electronic travel devices such as talking GPS technology, to enable people with impaired vision to get around their communities independently. Visit www.guidedogsaustralia.com or call 1800 804 805.
Watch the Channel 7 Sunrise story about the Readers Digest Brand survey
