NEW £5m VET CENTRE ANNOUNCES NATIONAL CHARITY SUPPORT
6 years ago 
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A new £5 million referral vet centre in Wakefield plans to raise both money and awareness after revealing Vetlife as its chosen charity of the year.
Paragon Veterinary Referrals, a state-of-the-art animal centre which opened its doors in February, will offer a range of support to the national charity throughout 2018, including a donation for every referred patient treated and ongoing fundraising activities.
Vetlife, which is based in London, supports those within the veterinary community across the UK who have emotional, health or financial difficulties, providing free and confidential advice.
The charity, which has existed for nearly 120 years, revealed it has seen a 500 per cent rise in calls and emails from veterinary professionals seeking support over the past five years, with more than 4,000 received over the past four calendar years combined.
Ian Monteith, managing director of Paragon Veterinary Referrals, said the centre’s support of Vetlife aligned itself perfectly with Paragon’s focus on wellbeing, which includes a dedicated wellbeing programme for staff.
As well as this, Paragon, which is part of the Linnaeus Group, has launched a season-long sponsorship of Wakefield Trinity Rugby League Club, which will see staff enjoy use of a corporate hospitality box for home Super League and cup matches – an invitation which will be extended to members of the Vetlife team and volunteers.
Ian said: “We made a very conscious decision to choose Vetlife as the charity we would support throughout 2018. It’s a fantastic charity which is, of course, close to the hearts of everyone here.
“The charity has seen a huge spike in the number of calls and emails it has received from people seeking support within the veterinary industry and, over the rest of this year, we will be aiming to raise both awareness and money for such a worthwhile organisation.
“In terms of fundraising, we will be offering a 25p donation for each referral patient we treat in 2018. We will also be donating £2 to Vetlife for every vet who, throughout this year, signs up as a Paragon Veterinary Professional member on the Members Area of the Paragon website and registers their contact preferences.
“There will also be a number of fundraising events throughout 2018, where we hope to involve members of our local veterinary community together with local people, which we will use to raise money and awareness for the charity.”
To kick-off its support of Vetlife, Paragon has already produced 2,000 rugby ball shape stress balls with Vetlife’s contact details printed on them, which are to be distributed to first opinion vets.
Ian said: “Vets, in particular, are fans of stress balls and we thought it would be a fitting way to show our support for both Vetlife and Wakefield Trinity to produce some rugby ball shaped ones.”
Geoff Little, Vetlife President, welcomed Paragon’s support. He said: “We’re really looking forward to working with Paragon this year and are grateful for the support the centre and its team are offering.
“Vetlife provides support in the shape of three core services, which are the Vetlife Helpline, which provides independent, confidential support 24/7, 365 days a year; Health Support, run by mental health professionals; and Financial Support, which provides assistance to vets or their dependents who find themselves in difficulty.
“Backing such as this from Paragon Veterinary Referrals enables us to continue providing support for an increasing number of veterinary professionals.”
Anyone who needs support can contact the Vetlife Helpline on 0303 040 2551 or email, anonymously, via www.vetlife.org.uk.
To find out more about Paragon Veterinary Referrals, and keep up to date with fundraising activities the centre is running to support Vetlife, please visit www.paragonreferrals.co.uk.
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