June 14, 2015

#OhNoNiall Wristbands Available Now!

June 14, 2015/ Amy

This wristband is a great shade of green and says #OhNoNiall on the front and NH22 on the back. Proceeds benefit our charity drive for Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland for Niall Horan's birthday.

There's a limited quantity so get one now!

http://www.1dfansgive.com/store

March 16, 2015

Lucky Shot Bear inspired by One Direction's Niall Horan

March 16, 2015/ Amy

This is the Lucky Shot Niall Bear! He's a custom bear that we're auctioning off to raise money for Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland for Niall Horan's 22nd birthday. All proceeds from the bear will go towards our charity drive! His body is a retired Build A Bear Lucky Fur You bear. The bear's outfit includes a black polo shirt, black pants, a red sweater vest, a cap, black canvas high tops, and sunglasses. He also comes with his very own smartphone (not a real one, duh; it does have sound when you push the buttons, however,) to take as many selfies as his famous idol. He also comes with a golf bag with three actual golf clubs and a ball and a doll stand to display him! Happy Bidding!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281630867047?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

February 11, 2015

New Designs added to the Gear Shop for Niall's Charity Drive

February 11, 2015/ Amy

Team Niall has added a bunch of really great designs to the charity shop for Niall's charity drive for Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland. You can check them out here:

http://1dfansgiveniall. spreadshirt.com

http://1dfansgiveniall.spreadshirt.co.uk

You can also donate directly to the charity at http://www.justgiving.com/niall22

And follow the Niall charity drive tumblr for all Niall charity news!

Edited to add: Some of the designs had to be redesigned due to US Spreadshirt restrictions, but are still available in the UK store.

February 02, 2015

Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland: Providing Highly Trained Assistance Dogs for Children with Autism and their families

February 02, 2015/ Amy

This year for Niall Horan's birthday, we raising money for Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland. You can donate here: http://www.justgiving.com/niall22

John from AADI has passed on some info about the organization that I thought I'd share with everyone! AADI also has a special treat for one lucky fan! Read on!

View image | gettyimages.com

So what's AADI?

Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland provides dogs that are specially trained to provide safety, independence and companionship to children who would otherwise live in a very isolated world. Having an assistance dog allows the families to be able to take their child to places that they had stopped going to and allows families to partake in simple everyday activities that the rest of us take for granted, such as a simple trip to a local shop, which can be very stressful for a child with autism.

How do the dogs assist?

The child is attached to the dog via a belt which is then linked to the dogs jacket ensuring the child is always safe and the parent then takes control of the dog by the lead. Autistic children sometimes don't have a strong sense of danger and will run after something. The dogs are trained to sit and prevent the child from running off. In addition, they can assist the child by providing companionship and responsibility for the care of the dog.

What is the training process?

It takes up to 2 years to train each dog. Each puppy is placed with a volunteer Puppy Foster Carer. The Foster Carer brings up the pup for the first 12 months, socializing the puppy so it can become a suitable assistance dog.

The dog then enters another 3 months of training, at which time, it is matched to a suitable child and family who will have already been assessed and accepted for an assistance dog. All dogs have access to shops and restaurants and wear a red jacket with a logo to identify them as an assistance dog. The family goes through intensive training with the dog to ensure they are confident with the dog before taking the dog home, followed up with aftercare visits to the home.

It costs €15,000 (approx. $17,000) to train each dog. AADI just placed 3 dogs last week - Elmo, Georgie, and Kasper.

Please follow AADI on Facebook! To celebrate Niall's birthday later in the year, AADI will pick one lucky fan who will get to chose a name for their next Puppy in Training and become that Puppy's virtual fosterer. (Terms and conditions apply) . The virtual fosterer will chose a name and then get a forthnightly updates on the dog's progress with pictures and video clips.

Check out the video below to see AADI in action. I'll be sharing more videos as we get closer and closer to Niall's birthday! Be sure to follow 1dfansgive and 1dfansgiveniall on twitter!