Generous guests at Wake Smith’s annual Christmas lunch club donated its biggest total to date of £1,800 for the law firm’s chosen charity.
More than 120 guests sat down at Sheffield City Hall for a meal and a fundraising raffle for Support Dogs UK.
Wake Smith staff voted to support the charity, which provides, trains and supports registered assistance dogs to ensure that people affected by autism, epilepsy and physical disability receive vital, life-saving support.
Neil Salter, chairman and director at Wake Smith, said: “Thank you to everyone attending the Wake Smith Christmas Lunch Club and helping raise our biggest total to date - a staggering £1,800 for our chosen charity, which is amazing.
“We were pleased to see so many clients and referrers who joined us to celebrate our successes of 2025.
“The amount raised will go towards our annual total being raised by the firm for Support Dogs UK.”
The charity provides autism assistance dogs, bringing safety and reducing stress for autistic children; seizure alert dogs for people with epilepsy, offering a 100 per cent accurate warning prior to a seizure so they can get to a place of safety and take control; and disability assistance dogs for physically disabled people, who can perform tasks tailored to the owners’ needs including opening and closing doors, assisting with dressing and undressing, loading and unloading the washing machine, and raising an alarm in an emergency.
Cordelia Van-Ristell, Corporate Fundraising Executive at Support Dogs UK, said: “This is a fantastic donation. Every pound raised is crucial to our work.”
Support Dogs is currently the only organisation in the UK to train and provide seizure alert dogs, and the first to train autism assistance dogs. It costs £27,000 to take a dog through a two-year training plan to become a support dog. One in four support dogs come from a rescue centre or as an unwanted pet and they have an eight-year working career.
There are more than 4,000 requests each year from individuals for support dogs. In 2024, Support Dogs UK purchased land for a new national centre in Sheffield which will allow it to take its support and services to the next level and the £4.2m project is currently underway.
Fundraising events the Wake Smith team have already taken part in include running challenges, abseiling, tin collections and the Sheffield 10k, as well as various volunteering opportunities.
For more information about Wake Smith Solicitors visit www.wake-smith.co.uk
To find our more about Support Dogs, please visit www.supportdogs.org.uk or call 0114 261 7800.