Kenilworth Ladies Circle is continuing its support for Guide Dogs for the Blind UK with the '24 hour Big Kenilworth Danceathon' at the end of February.

Taking place between 7pm Friday, February 26 and 7pm Saturday 27 via Zoom, members of Kenilworth Ladies Circle will be non-stop dancing to raise both awareness and funds for the charity.

Loren Cowling, Kenilworth Ladies Circle Chair, is set to dance the full 24 hours, assisted by the rest of the group shimmying in shifts throughout the duration, and keeping her company online.

Each new Chair of Kenilworth Ladies Circle choses a charity to sponsor for the year, with Guide Dogs for the Blind being the current recipient.

When asked why she came to this decision, Loren said "There were so many amazing charities, I really struggled!

"They [Guide Dogs for the Blind] have a big presence locally, and I love dogs; the fact a dog can really enhance someone's life really makes me happy. They truly are a mans best friend.

"And I know, like other charities at the moment, they are struggling for donations as a lot of their events have had to be cancelled, so this makes this year even more important for fundraising!"

Guide Dogs for the Blind is one of the world's largest charities dedicated to breeding, and training working dogs.

With up to 70 per cent of visually-impaired adults receiving no support within twelve months of diagnosis, and the number of young people in the UK with vision impairment rising, any support and donations from the public are valued greatly.

The ladies circle has already begun their fundraising for this charity, having hosted the 'Big Kenilworth Paw Patrol' hunt back in August which raised over £800.

The charity also arranged for BBC reporter, and guide dog user, Sean Tilley, to drop into their 'Zoom Bar' to tell the ladies about his personal experience as a guide dog user and how the charity continue to helps him today.

The Danceathon had been scheduled to take place at the end of 2020, but was quickly rearranged due to restrictions. Despite the difficulties, the ladies are half way towards their fundraising goal of £2,000 for this event, with £1,205 in the pot at the time of writing.

As with many community fundraising groups, the coronavirus pandemic has seriously hampered their usual fundraising opportunities including supporting the Kenilworth Round Table and its Kenilworth Castle Firework Display, and the annual Santa Float.

If you would like to donate please follow this link.