M&S Cowes

We have a group of volunteers who collect surplus from Marks and Spencers on every school day. The surplus food is then displayed at our school, for our parents to collect and take home. This is an invaluable service, which benefits our parents greatly, especially in times of hardship. There is no charge for this service.

Feeding Isle of Wight runs a surplus food distribution centre on the Isle of Wight. This was set up to prevent surplus food being returned to the mainland to go into landfill. The aim is to help prevent hunger in an area of high deprivation. We distribute to various food charities on the Island. We also run a food pantry in Cowes from the front of the distribution centre. We offer various wraparound care including a Digital Network Hub.

Any funding would help us cover the costs of training our Ability Dogs and their ongoing support whilst working with our recipients. The initial two years to train an Ability Dog costs approximately £5,000 per year. Once the dog is out working with a young individual we continue to support them at a cost of £1,000 per year. An Ability Dog’s working life is about 8-10 years. Currently we are supporting 29 Ability Dogs and Ability Puppies in training. Training and support continues approximately 2 -3 times per week for about six months after placement to ensure that every aspect of the young people’s activities are covered. Thereafter, we provide monthly after-care support throughout the working life of the Ability Dog. This is particularly important because the recipients’ needs change over the years. Youngsters with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy can be very reliant on their family or carers. They generally require help with tasks such as getting undressed. Our highly trained Ability Dogs help with these tasks enabling the youngster to have more independence. Example: Christina has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair or walking sticks to get around. This was very limiting for her and it affected her confidence. In 2014 she received her Ability Dog called Georgie who changed her life. Georgie helps Christina to shower and dress, and helps her get around when out and about. Georgie gives her the confidence she needs. For youngsters with mental disabilities such as autism, an Ability Dog increases confidence and enables them to lead more independent lives. Example: Jon is 19 and has autism. He used to have severe anxiety attacks, night terrors and was too worried to leave the house on his own. Sheriff went to live with Jon and the changes in Jon and his life have been extraordinary. He now goes to the Isle of Wight College, gets the bus home on his own, has made friends and goes into town with them, all because of Sheriff. Therapy Ability Dogs improve the ability of severely disabled young people to participate in education and social and leisure activities. They reduce the stress the young people have that is associated with interacting with people. Our Therapy Ability Dogs visit over 200 children in specialist schools and special units. At our weekly ‘Paws 4 U’ sessions, disabled youngsters and their families come to our training centre to interact with our dogs, on a one-to-one basis or as a group. Many children with disabilities find dogs scary. They worry that a dog will jump up and hurt them or knock them over. These sessions provide the perfect forum for them to gain their confidence.