Guide Dogs NSW/ACT have been involved with Sculptures in the Garden since its first year of exhibition in 2010. During that time over $175,000 has been raised for the organisation.
Guide Dogs have a committee of roughly 30 members with half of their team volunteering to be a part of the sculpture event each year. The volunteers are an enormous support to the event and SIG couldn’t take place without them. The volunteers run the food tent making delicious salads, sandwiches, bacon and egg rolls and sausage sandwiches to feed all of the hungry visitors. They also man the gate collecting donation entry fees, run raffles and supervise parking. They are also very persuasive when asking their husbands, partners and friends to lend a hand over the weekend. With so many jobs to be done, it takes quite a few hands to ensure it all runs as smoothly as it does.
Not only do the Guide Dogs volunteers man the gate every year, we’ve also been lucky enough to have Gulliver, the giant guide dog who features proudly alongside them as a highlight for the thousands of guests who come to visit the two-day event.
Another highlight for visitors is the Guide Dog puppies that are available for petting and cooing over every year. The puppies are brought up by Karen Hayter and a team of handlers from the kennels at Glossodia. We are so appreciative of them doing this and know that both the small and large visitors delight in seeing their gorgeous faces. We also have Lindy Druitt our fantastic committee member who was on the Guide Dogs NSW/ACT board for 14 years and helped to get this initiative over the line.
In 2014, we had Henry Macphillamy as a guest speaker at Sculptures in the Garden and he was a very popular speaker, sharing his story with all of the Sculptures in the Garden visitors. Henry is Gerald Norton-Knight’s godson who was born blind. Henry came with his guide dog and explained how important the relationship is between a guide dog and its recipient and how greatly it has changed and benefited his life.
In 2015, Dame Marie Bashir was the Guest of Honour at Sculptures in the Garden. Dame Bashir opened the exhibition and was the patron of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT at the time and Governor of NSW.
The money raised through Sculptures in the Garden has sponsored the development of at least one kennel at Glossodia, and has also contributed to play equipment for the puppies at Glossodia which has been hugely beneficial to their learning and development.
We have also had a representative from the Guide Dogs NSW/ACT head office who has helped to judge the sensory prizes which were introduced to Sculptures in the Garden in 2018 and which have attracted over 100 entries over the past 2 years.
The relationship that the Guide Dogs committee has with SIG has strengthened over the years. The event has evolved with lessons learned and adjustments made by us all as each exhibition ends. It has been so lovely to see so many happy, excited faces pass through the gates and they’re all too willing to dig deep for not only the $5 entry fee but often more towards raffle tickets and general donations which goes a long way in raising much needed funds for the organisation.
