Guide Dogs NSW/ACT | LinkedIn (original) (raw)

About us

Guide Dogs NSW/ACT is the leading provider of Guide Dogs and Orientation and Mobility services that enable people with low vision or blindness to get around their communities safely and independently. Our social media terms of use: http://bit.ly/GDAsocial

Industry

Non-profit Organization Management

Company size

201-500 employees

Headquarters

St Leonards, New South Wales

Type

Nonprofit

Founded

1957

Specialties

Guide Dogs, Assistive Technology, Therapy Dogs, Disability Inclusion Training, Guide Dog Mobility Training, Occupational Therapy, Neurological Vision Services, Orientation and Mobility Services, Accessibility and Technology Consulting, Peer Support and Connection Services, Funding Support, and Orthoptist Low Vision Services

Locations

Employees at Guide Dogs NSW/ACT

Updates

This Black Friday sales season, from Thursday 28 to Saturday 30 November, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT is popping up in Paddington with a unique shopping experience, Blackout Friday. Come into the store that won't let you see what you're buying. Grab a free thrifted bargain from UTURN and for yourself a small part of what online shopping for a person with low vision or blindness could be like. While stocks last! Why are we doing this? Online shopping can be a stressful experience for people with blindness or low vision. Very few ecommerce stores are truly accessible and inadequate product descriptions are everywhere, leaving most people confused about whether they're buying a plain red jumper, or a red Christmas jumper. While we can't fix every website this sales season, we can do our best to understand the problem, so businesses are motivated to do better and stop leaving over 500,000 Aussie consumers with low vision or blindness in the dark. Register for a ticket now through the link below to reserve your spot, or pop in on your preferred day! Walk-ins are welcome. The details: Dates: Thursday 28, Friday 29 and Saturday 30 November 2024. Location: 17 Oxford Street, Paddington, NSW 2021. Register for a free ticket or pop in on your preferred day! Register for a ticket now by following the link: https://lnkd.in/g8yYFmYT [Image description: white text on a black background reads two weeks until black out Friday, the store that won't let you see what you're buying. Join us from28 to 30 November in Paddington.]#GuideDogsAustralia #BlackOutFriday #DigitalAccessibility #GuideDogsNSW
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of NSW and Patron of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT and her husband, Mr Wilson recently visited our newly opened Newcastle office. The morning included: A tour of the office with Guide Dogs NSW/ACT team members Belinda Carroll, Tamara Searant, Gary Bristow and Michael Apte. A presentation by Ben Moxey on Guide Dogs NSW/ACT inclusion journey and the role of technology in his life. An introduction to Occupational Therapy by Occupational Therapist, James Hopwood featuring examples of technology people with low vision or blindness might use to improve their independence. A case study focusing on the evolving journey and long-time relationship Clients have with us, presented by Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Cindy Wilson. Information on Puppy Raising in the Newcastle area, presented by Puppy Development Advisor, Page Power. Thank you to Her Excellency for attending, and to our staff for a great day. We can’t wait to host more exciting events at our newly opened office space. [Image description one: from left to right: Cath Mahoney, Belinda Carroll and Ambassador Dog Lucy, Chief Marketing Officer Michael Apte, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of NSW and her husband, Mr Wilson. They stand outside the Guide Dogs Newcastle office and smile at the camera.] [Image description two: James Hopwood presenting inside the Newcastle office.] [Image description three: Ben Moxey presenting inside the Newcastle office.]
Alexa, tell me about your work with Guide Dogs NSW/ACT! Guide Dogs NSW/ACT has launched a pilot for a voice-driven, interactive Puppy Raising Manual, “Alexa for Guide Dogs” exclusively to registered Puppy Raisers. They can ask Alexa questions to help them on their challenging, but incredible journey of raising a Guide Dogs puppy. Alexa for Guide Dogs is a “skill”, similar to an app on your smartphone and works using any Alexa-enabled Smart Speaker, like those currently provided to Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Clients to access Guide Dogs news and upcoming events. Through our partnership with Amazon Alexa, Guide Dogs has delivered leading innovation in voice-driven conversational technology, which will provide our Puppy Raisers with readily available information and tips to further support them on their journey of raising the next generation of life-changing dogs. Guide Dogs’ Chief Technology Officer, Glenn M. and the team look forward to continuing to work with Amazon Alexa's Country Manager, Kate Gooden and Senior Partnerships Manager, Jeanna Manifold, to learn more about the needs of people with low vision or blindness in the technology space. To find out more about this initiative, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/ggMbcWTU[Image description: an Amazon Alexa sits on a table inside a home plugged in.]
Haze, a very special pup from our Board Litter is already off to an incredible start on his journey towards a fulfilling career!

Non Executive Director | Remuneration Chair | Strategy & Innovation | Digital Technology | Marketing & Manufacturing, Consumer Insights
4d
A few weeks on , here’s beautiful Haze, and he’s a gorgeous boy. He’s really chill/cool/ calm, he’s going to take everything in his stride. He’s also got big paws and lots of gorgeous puppy skin folds to grow into. Already loves humans and a cuddle. Just my type of puppy! Guide Dogs NSW/ACT thanks to the wonderful Juliet Kelly who’s raising him! #labradors #guidedogs #boardsCharting my Board provided puppy as he grows!
Wonderful learnings from Emma Logan from our second session of the Digital Accessibility Workshops our team have been hosting! Last session is next week so be sure to secure your tickets using the below link: https://lnkd.in/gEGYausN

Purpose First Leader | Creative Strategist and Marketer | Relationship Builder | Change Agent
4d
Is your content up to scratch when it comes to accessibility? Mine hasn't been and I've set out to change that. It was awesome to join Michael Apte and the team at the Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Boundless Workshop on digital accessibility. What an eye-opener! Here's some of what I learned: 👉 Tech and AI are revolutionising accessibility. We got a live demo of what it's like to navigate a website using a screen reader that really drove home how important layout is. For example, not giving your headings H tags will make it much more difficult for a blind or low vision person to navigate to the various sections of your website. 👉 Good design will improve accessibility for everyone. No need to create two concepts—make one that's great for everyone. 👉 You can make a big difference with small changes to font size and selection, having a clear layout, including alt text and using everyday language. Lastly, it's important to remember that we're all on the accessibility journey. Even Guide Dogs are still learning and improving over time! Huge thanks to the Guide Dogs team for hosting such an insightful session! If you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend signing up for the next session on 19 November:https://lnkd.in/g2XMpkXE #AccessibleContent #DigitalAccessibility Brittney van Saarloos Leah Chegwyn Abby JayasuriyaImage descriptions below in the comments.
A big shout out to everyone who joined us on our mission to create a Boundless World! Recently, social media content creators met with our Marketing team at our St Leonards office to learn about how they can make their digital content more accessible. During the workshops, attendees heard from Digital Marketing Specialist, Brittney van Saarloos about how to make their websites more accessible. Our team also demonstrated how social media content can also be made accessible with examples of how our Digital and Social Coordinator, Leah Chegwyn does this. Emerging Technology and Accessibility Manager, Ben Moxey talked about how living with low vision or blindness impacts accessibility in the digital space using his lived experience. A massive thank you to our Campaigns Manager, Sarah Watts and Keep Left for their hard work in bringing this first session to life. We encourage media, agencies and brands to attend our final session next week. Click the link below to sign up to a free upcoming session. https://lnkd.in/gCsGp6Q6[Image description one: two yellow Labradors lay down on either side of a black Labrador also laying down. They are posing for a photo in the St Leonards office.] [Image description two: a group of people sitting at a long rectangular desk in a boardroom. They are listening to a presentation.] [Image description three: Sarah Watts Guide Dogs NSW/ACT staff presenting the content exercise participants are going to partake in.] [Image description four: a Puppy Raiser speaking to the group about the yellow Labrador she is currently raising.]#GuideDogsAustralia #GuideDogsNSW #BoundlessWorld #DigitalAccessibility
Great work Michael Apte and Ben Moxey on spreading important information on Digital Accessibility! Great insights on how the industry is growing and where there are still areas of opportunity and improvement.

Chief Marketing Officer at Guide Dogs NSW/ACT
5d
My Top takeaways from the Digital Accessibility session at the Tech Council of Australia National Tech Summit in Melbourne yesterday, featuring our Emerging Tech and Accessibility Manager Ben Moxey. 1. Capabilities are lifting - the big hardware players (Apple, Microsoft, Google) are building accessibility straight into their devices, huge step forward. 2. Content, software, app support is still… patchy at best. Huge inclusion and commercial opportunity for those that get it right. 3. AI is making big strides (such as describing in incredible detail what’s in a scene for someone who is blind or low vision) but it also hallucinates and many of the ‘AI Accessibility Overlays’ for websites we’re seeing are doing more harm than good. 4. Building accessibility into the initial build of a project is simpler, cheaper, faster than adding it at any subsequent point. 5. Everyone is still on the accessibility journey, organisations like Guide Dogs are still learning and improving over time. 6. Where to start? Try some basic things on your website. Things like font size, font selection. Short, everyday language. These things will make your website better for everyone, not just those who are blind or low vision. Thanks Ben, Stewart and Tech Council of Australia! [Image description one - three people on a stage, with two large screens behind them. Image description two - Ben sitting on stage with a large video screen behind him]. Guide Dogs NSW/ACT
Recently Guide Dogs NSW/ACT officially opened the doors to our new Newcastle office! Clients, staff and supporters were invited to the opening event to tour our new vibrant and inclusive space. This new space is designed to be accessible and welcoming for everyone. It features wider hallways, rounded furniture with colour contrasts, Braille and tactile signage, glare-reducing blinds and the latest Assistive Technology. The new office will be a home for our Guide Dogs staff, volunteers, and the local community. With many of our Clients living in regional NSW, this office will help us better serve the Hunter region and beyond. Attendees heard from the Federal Member for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon MP, Chair of the Board Jacqui Jones and Emerging Technology and Accessibility Manager, Ben Moxey, who were joined by CEO Dale Cleaver to officially cut the ribbon. Our special Ambassador Dogs and puppies also attended the event and received lots of pats! [Image description one: from left to right: Ben Moxey, Jacqui Jones, Sharon Claydon and Dale Cleaver stand in front of the Newcastle office and hold a pair of scissors to cut the Guide Dogs branded ribbon.] [Image description two: a man stands in front of a television screen in the Newcastle office and presents to a room of attendees.] [Image description three: a close up of yellow Labrador Ambassador Dog Lucy in the Newcastle office.] [Image description four: a woman uses the Braille tactile signage in the Newcastle office.] [Image description five: two people posing for a photo. They smile and lean towards the camera. A black Labrador Guide Dog in harness stands between them looking to the right.] #GuideDogsAustralia #GuideDogsNSW #OfficeOpening
4,910 followers
1w Edited
On Thursday 31 October, our Social Change team attended an event hosted by the Point to Point Commissioner in collaboration with the Minister for Transport NSW and Guide Dogs NSW/ACT at Sydney International Airport. At the event, we highlighted the advocacy work we’re doing to break the barriers that limit people with low vision or blindness regarding taxi and rideshare refusals. The Social Change team, Clients, Puppy Raisers and their adorable puppies came along to the event. We enjoyed great coffee and even better conversations with taxi drivers, shared information packs and talked about why Guide Dogs are important for people with low vision or blindness. Our team will continue to collaborate with the Minister for Transport NSW, Jo Haylen and the Point to Point Commissioner, Anthony Wing to raise awareness and advocate for positive change. We will also continue to engage with the community to educate taxi drivers on the rights of Guide Dog Handlers when using their services. Thank you to our Social Change team, including Tamara Searant, Jen Moon, Sarah Hirst, Daniel Searle, Sibylla Vaughan and Aroha Nisbett, our Disability Inclusion Advisor Jaci Armstrong, our Client Engagement Services Leader Gavan Harrison and our volunteer Puppy Raisers who were at the event to connect with the community to advocate for positive change. Would you like to get involved in our advocacy work? Sign up to become an Inclusion Ally to receive communication about the work we do and how you can contribute to positive change. https://lnkd.in/gXk8v4MG[Image description one: a table with a cloth that reads Point to Point Transport Commissioner, in front of the taxi rank at the Sydney Airport. Guide Dogs branded cookies sit on top of the table.] #GuideDogsAustralia #GuideDogsNSW
We had a PAWsome time at our recent Puppy Pals picnic! Hosted at the Guide Dogs Centre in Glossodia, our team welcomed the Puppy Pals community to explore the place where our pups spend time training and learning as they progress towards life-changing careers! Attendees were guided throughout the kennels, sat front row at a Guide Dog training demonstration, listened to a presentation from Lived Experience Presenters about living with low vision or blindness and tested their knowledge in a Puppy Raising question and answer session. Thank you to our Guide Dogs Centre team, including Sharon Zammit, Maddison Conn and Craig Spillane, who helped host our Puppy Pals for this great event. A big shout out to Tara Sellar and the Fundraising team who helped bring this event to life, as well as our Volunteers who helped ensure the event was PAWsitively fun! [Image description one: multiple groups of people spread out on picnic blankets and chairs on the lawn at the Guide Dogs Centre.] [Image description two: a group of people crouching down to pat a black Labrador puppy in training who lays on the grass.] [Image description three: a person reaches into the raffle ticket spinner on a table. Three Guide Dogs NSW/ACT team members stand behind them ready to hand out prizes.] [Image description four: a winner of the raffle holds up their puppy pack to the camera. They smile and face the camera.] [Image description five: Lived Experience Presenter, Karlee speaks into the microphone in front of attendees. Karlee’s yellow Labrador Guide Dog, Isla lays down at her side.] [Image description six: a child colouring in an image of a Labrador at a table.] #GuideDogsAustralia #GuideDogsNSW #PuppyPals
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Guide Dogs NSW/ACT | LinkedIn (original) (raw)

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