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Kieran: Dog Rescue Volunteering Case Study

Blog
The YPO Team
29 Sep 2026

This month, Kieran Gotts, Assistant Buyer for Paper & Exercise Books at YPO, utilised his volunteering leave to support West Yorkshire Dog Rescue, a local charity that looks after dogs that have been rescued, found or need to be rehomed.

Kieran organised and took part in a flash-tattooing day at Devil's Mark Tattoo in Sheffield, where a team of talented tattoo artists created and tattooed small designs throughout the day, raising £655 for the charity.

Additionally, they are running a raffle for the remainder of September and are currently just short of £700! The money raised will help the rescue charity continue providing its services and care to dogs in need, covering vet bills, food, equipment, and more.

Kieran has shared his experience below.

What did you use your volunteer leave for?

I used my volunteer leave to organise a flash-tattoo day at the tattoo studio where I work part-time. A few other artists and I tattooed throughout the day and donated the money from each tattoo to the rescue. I am also running a raffle alongside that until the end of September, and the proceeds will go to them. We raised money for West Yorkshire Dog Rescue, which is a registered charity that looks after dogs that have been rescued, found or need to be rehomed. They help ensure they are looked after and suitably rehomed. They rehome around 250 dogs a year, utilising volunteer fosters rather than kennels.

What did you enjoy most about volunteering?

I enjoyed creating lots of smaller designs with the other artists, mostly dog-related, and then getting to actually tattoo some of them. I am a big animal lover, especially dogs, so it gives me joy knowing that the money we raised will go toward helping dogs in need -going towards vet bills, food, equipment and more.

Which of the YPO values are linked to your volunteering experience?

I think that this ticks all the boxes.

Be kind and help raise money for a local rescue that relies heavily on donations to keep going.

Embrace creativity: We designed many of the day's tattoos around the dog theme.

Making a difference, as previously mentioned, means helping the rescue continue by providing the care and services they offer to dogs in need.

Would you recommend volunteering?

I would recommend volunteering, especially if you can utilise something that you are passionate about to help those in need.

If you could summarise your volunteering experience in 3 words, what would they be?

Proud, fun, rewarding.

Any further comments

Just a big thank you to everyone in the shop who helped me make this work, from creating posters, going round and sticking them up, donating time and things to the raffle and for helping raise an amazing £655 on the day from tattooing and even more over the last couple of weeks of September with the raffle.

To find out more about YPO’s commitment to social value and supporting local charities, visit here.

Author

The YPO Team

YPO supplies products and services to a wide range of customers including schools, local authorities, charities, emergency services, public sector and other businesses such as nurseries and care homes. YPO are 100% publicly owned, by 13 local authorities, which means the profits made are returned to public sector customers, delivering even better value for money.