PENNIES for the puppy - that's the cry today as we step up our fundraising to pay for a guide dog's vital training.

Richard Cornwell

PENNIES for the puppy - that's the cry today as we step up our fundraising to pay for a guide dog's vital training.

As part of our Christmas appeal to raise £10,000 for Guide Dogs for the Blind, we are asking readers to collect coppers to help push the fund towards its target.

The loose change which fills our pockets and falls down the back of settees could make all the difference as pennies become pounds - each one valuable for the work carried out by the charity.

A special video has also been launched which tells the story of loveable guide dog puppy Star and also features the Evening Star's Christmas message for this year.

The footage is to be put on the Star's website and will also be shown alongside our Christmas tree, which is this year being displayed in the Tower Ramparts shopping complex in Ipswich and is due to be lit up on November 15, with little Star doing the switch on and meeting shoppers and supporters.

Ipswich Hospital has kicked off the latest fundraising initiative with a Pennies for the Puppy Day.

Puppy walker Penny Parker, of the East and Mid Suffolk fundraising group of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and who is looking after little Star for her first year, hoped everyone would look out their unwanted small change.

She said: “We have a very good arrangement with our bank and they are always happy to take coins from us of any size and any amount - and every single penny helps,” she said.

- Anyone with coppers can drop them off at either the Felixstowe or Ipswich offices of the Evening Star.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED . . .

The aim is to raise £10,000 to help with the cost of Star's training - and we want the whole community to get involved with the appeal.

Every penny and pound will count and ensure that the little puppy get the best care and training as she is prepared to do the job of guiding someone who lives every day of their lives with the blight of blindness.

If you are organising a fundraising event for the appeal, then we want to hear so we can give it maximum publicity and help boost the amount raised.

So let us know what you are up to - get in touch with Richard Cornwell at the Felixstowe Newsdesk on 01394 284109 or the Ipswich Newsdesk on 01473 324788.

To donate to the appeal, please send cheques - made payable to the Guide Dogs - to Richard Cornwell, Evening Star, 172 Hamilton Road, Felixstowe, IP11 7DU.