Pawsitive Action Leeds CIC

29/09/2026

People Matters have partnered with Humans Being to offer She Rises—a free, interactive 7-week course designed to support women in Leeds to improve their wellbeing, build confidence, and take their next steps towards volunteering, education, or employment.

Course details:

Dates: Starts Monday 5th October (runs weekly on Mondays for 7 weeks)

Time: 1:30pm – 3:30pm

Location: People Matters, 191 Belle Vue Road, Woodhouse, Leeds, LS3 1HG

Cost: Free

What the course covers:

Hope & change

Stress reduction

Self-belief & positive self-talk

Maintaining momentum

Reasonable adjustments

Accessing local opportunities

Who can join:
The course is open to anyone who:

Identifies as a woman

Lives in Leeds

Is aged 64 or under

Is currently unemployed

Is experiencing physical health or mental wellbeing challenges

How to book or find out more:
To sign up or ask questions, reach out directly to People Matters:

Call: 0113 234 6896

Email: [email protected]

Learn more about Humans Being: https://www.humansbeing.org.uk

29/09/2026

Wellchild Awards 2027 Nominations Open

WellChild Awards 2027 Nominations Open: Every family has a story of courage, love and determination. The WellChild Awards recognise inspiring children and young people with complex medical needs, alongside the people who help them thrive. If you know someone who deserves to be celebrated, why not nominate them for a 2027 WellChild Award?

Submit your nomination today: https://www.wellchild.org.uk/2027nominate/

29/09/2026

A new way of working. The same mission: making assistance dogs accessible to all.

PAL CIC is changing how our assistance dog support works, creating a model built around choice, accessibility, collaboration and community.

Rather than trying to provide every element of dog training ourselves, we're building a network of ethical, welfare-centred independent trainers. This means people can access trainers based on their needs, location, budget and the skills their dog needs.

PAL CIC's general guidance and support time will be FREE.

We're also building a growing free resource library for owner-trainers, dog trainers, clinicians and others supporting assistance dog partnerships, from training logs and templates to practical "how-to" guides and accessibility information.

Where we refer someone to an independent trainer, we're transparent about our 5% referral contribution, which helps support PAL CIC's wider work.

Funding, fundraising and partnerships will help us keep developing these resources without putting them behind a paywall.

And this model gives PAL CIC more time to do something equally important: challenge the barriers around assistance dogs.

Advocacy. Accessibility. Education. Funding. Community. Structural change.

Because making assistance dogs accessible isn't only about training dogs.

It's about making the world around them more accessible too.

28/09/2026

A new chapter for Paws!
We’re delighted to share that Paws is starting at The Open University to further their studies in law, with the hope of specialising in immigration law, disability law and animal law.

You might see a little less of Paws around as they make time for studying, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less busy, or any less committed to making a difference!

PAL CIC is volunteer led, with people giving their time, energy and care to support our community. As Paws takes this next step, that commitment remains at the heart of what we do.

Please join us in wishing Paws all the best with their studies. Thank you for continuing to support Paws and PAL CIC.

More news coming soon!

24/09/2026

Statement regarding PAL CIC client data

We want to make our community aware of a data security concern involving information previously accessible to former members of Pawsitive Action Leeds CIC.

Following the departure of former directors of the organisation, PAL CIC became aware that client spaces and/or information that had been accessible through their roles continued to be held or used outside of PAL CIC after their departure.

We want to be very clear about an important distinction: PAL CIC has not lost its client database or records. The information currently held by PAL CIC remains under our control, and we have taken steps to secure our systems and remove former access.

Our concern relates to the potential unauthorised retention, access or use of information that individuals originally had legitimate access to while working with PAL CIC.

We are currently establishing exactly what information may have been retained or used, who may be affected, and what further action is required. We are also reviewing our obligations under UK data protection law, including whether the matter requires notification to the Information Commissioner's Office and/or directly affected individuals.

We take the privacy of our disabled clients and wider community extremely seriously. We will be transparent about what has happened while also ensuring that we do not make claims publicly that have not yet been established.

If we identify that your personal information has been affected and there is information you need to know or action you need to take, we will contact you directly. If you have any concerns feel free to contact us at [email protected]

The data and systems currently controlled by PAL CIC are secure, and former members no longer have authorised access to them.

Pawsitive Action Leeds CIC

23/09/2026

COOKIES & CANINES

Our next Cookies & Canines social is on 21st October, 6pm–8pm at Kulture Coffee, and this time we're getting crafty!

THIS MONTH'S THEME: DIY DOG TOYS!

Got some old T-shirts you don't mind cutting up?
Been wondering why you've been hoarding all those loo roll tubes?

Bring them along!

We'll be having a go at turning everyday bits and pieces into fun DIY enrichment and toys for our dogs. No crafting expertise required, wonky creations are VERY welcome.

As always, Cookies & Canines is a relaxed, accessible and LGBTQIA+ & disability-inclusive social for dog lovers. You don't need to have a dog, all dog lovers are welcome! 💚

Cookies & Canines is changing!

Going forward, every social will have its own theme, giving us something fun, useful or interesting to explore together alongside the usual chatting, coffee and dog appreciation.

And we'd love YOU to get involved.

Got an idea for a future theme?
Fancy running a session yourself?
Know loads about a dog-related topic?
Want to talk about something disability-related?

Let us know! We'd love Cookies & Canines to be shaped by the people who come along.

📍 Kulture Coffee, 380 Kirkstall Rd, LS4 2HQ
📅 21st October
⏰ 6pm–8pm
💚 FREE to attend — please support Kulture Coffee by grabbing a cuppa (and maybe a puppuccino! 🐶☕)

[email protected]

23/09/2026

A little update from us!

First off, we got the Highly Commended BBC Make a Difference Award and we are so happy.

Congratulations to the finalist!

We can't put into words what this award means to us. But it does reinforce our mission and take us nicely into year 2 of Pawsitive Action Leeds CIC.

We've always been about action and we'll be more unapologetic about it going forward.

PAL CIC is moving away from in-house training, as we recognise the many amazing trainers across Leeds and we are all about community.

You may have seen our post looking for dog trainers. We are creating a dog trainer network to fast track our training processes and give clients more autonomy over their training and more accessibility, financially, geographically, demographically, etc.

We've already had a good amount of interest and we'd love to hear from more of you!

What this means is PAL CIC can concentrate our time to social justice. Making real change for disabled people. Policies, education, advocacy, etc.

It also means we have set open times now and our volunteers are not over stretched and we can take on case work at a healthier pace without worrying about training plans, as we will be providing all our dog trainer network with the guidance they need (if at all), so clients and trainers have full control over their assistance dog pathway.

We will still be raising funds for people in need, still planning projects, still looking for a venue, etc, but we believe our restructure is just what we needed.

Our new team is 100% lived experienced, and, we've got you 💚🐾

There's more to come, so stay tuned!

18/09/2026

Here's an article from the BBC Make a Difference Awards we were Highly Commended at 🥳💚🐾

People who make life better for others have had their work honoured by BBC Radio Leeds.

16/09/2026

Is social justice important to you?

PAL CIC has always been about more than dogs.

At our heart, we’re a disabled-led community organisation, and we believe accessibility shouldn’t depend on whether someone is willing or able to fight for it alone.

As PAL CIC moves into its next chapter, we want to bring together people who care about accessibility, disability rights, inclusion and creating real change in our communities.

We’re looking for volunteers who might want to help us:

Raise awareness of accessibility barriers
Amplify disabled voices and lived experience
Build relationships with businesses and organisations
Support campaigns and community action
Bring their own ideas, skills and experiences to the table

You don’t need to be an expert. You don’t need a fancy CV. And there isn’t one particular type of person we’re looking for.

If you care about making Leeds and the wider world more accessible, we want to hear from you.

Comment below, message us, email [email protected], or get in touch in whatever way is accessible to you.

PAL CIC has always belonged to its community. Now we want our community to help shape what comes next. 💚

14/09/2026

Come on down!

Whether it's just to chill, talk about our new Dog Trainer Network, Our Assistance Dog Pathway, our other opportunities, or just a volcano cookie! 😁💚🐾

🍪🐾 Cookies and Canines | Free Community Meetup 🐾🍪

Looking for a relaxed, friendly, and accessible space to connect with fellow dog lovers in Leeds? Come along to the Cookies and Canines meetup, hosted by Pawsitive Action Leeds CIC!

This is an LGBTQIA+ and disability-inclusive event welcoming all dog enthusiasts. Friendly and non-reactive dogs are very much encouraged to attend! 🐶✨

📅 When: Wednesday 16th September

⏰ Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

📍 Where: Kulture Coffee, 380 Kirkstall Rd, Leeds, LS4 2HQ

🎟 Cost: FREE event (please support our wonderful hosts at Kulture Coffee by grabbing a cuppa, cookie, or puppuccino!)

📧 For enquiries, please contact: [email protected]