People often donate more to charities around the holidays and one of the charities I like to give a little extra to over the festive period is The Donkey Sanctuary. Before reading further, I do need to state that this post is not sponsored in anyway and is in no way affiliated with the charity. I simply love the work the charity does and who doesn’t love a donkey around Christmas time?
A proud adoptee of a donkey called Billy O for a couple of years now, at regular intervals throughout the year The Donkey Sanctuary send me updates of how my donkey is doing, what he has been up to and who he has been playing with – all typical donkey stuff! They also advise me of activities and games other donkeys have been playing overseas, even who has been to the dentist and doctor.
Whilst donkeys played a famous part in the Christmas story, did you know that they (and mules) still play a pivotal role in societies and communities across the world? Many of these donkeys are suffering as people just do not care for their furry friends properly, due to lack of money, lack of education and a number of other factors. The Donkey Sanctuary aims to help with that and they work directly with these people to help improve donkey care and well being.
Did you know that across the world there is a growing demand for donkey meat, milk and skins? Did you know that in countries where donkeys have been an integral part of their agriculture system for millennia, the animals are often abandoned for the use of new technology and are left to fend for themselves? The Donkey Sanctuary aims to help with these issues too and oh so many, many more.
They also work on rescuing and re-homing donkeys here in the UK and do tremendous work with governments here and abroad to ensure donkey welfare is a priority, especially when they are used for leisure/tourism/entertainment activities.
The charity also offers knowledge and care advice for people as well as educational visits in a number of centres they have nationwide. Unfortunately, I do not live near to one but I am determined to visit one, hopefully by spring 2020. They also offer donkey therapy which I think is a terrific way to help people.
In the run up to Christmas, the charity also sends out a brochure of goods they have available for purchase. Their brochure features an array of wonderful things. From donkey themed gifts, adorable stationery and Christmas cards, cute kitchenware, clothing and even a donkey version of Monopoly. I have often purchased bits and pieces over the years as their products make for wonderful Christmas gifts. My mum even purchased a donkey umbrella from them for her sister, which went down amazingly well a few years ago and even lead to my aunt adopting a donkey for herself.
Since originally adopting Billy, a few other friends and family members have signed up to adopt an equine friend, much to their delight. You might have seen their adverts on TV or heard about their work in the media. If you would like to check them out, have a look around their shop, donate or adopt a friend, or even if you just want to see some pictures of donkeys, do check out their website here.
There are so many charities all vying for attention, all doing incredible work throughout the year. Which charities are close to your heart, especially over the holidays? Let me know in the comments below.
Ellies London 
Billy o is the best donkey at the sanctuary…..but he has lots of mates still needing help…..also don’t buy animals unless you fully accept the responsibility that comes with them…..they need homes after Christmas too.
Lots of love and a kind word go a long way at any time of the year.😺🐒🐴🦌🐦🐘🦒🦏🦔🦖🐠🐑🐪🐶
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I love all of the animal emojis. I love Billy O at the sanctuary so much 😁 I would adopt a lot more animals like in all of the adverts on the TV ♥️ and i want a dog ♥️
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My father in law sponsors The Donkey Sanctuary. I donated my affiliate earnings from a Finnish project to Hope Ry that supports children in need in Finland. Here in The Netherlands I like to support Linda Foundation that supports struggling families.
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That’s so great – I love hearing all about which charities people support 🙂 x
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I’ve heard that Donkey Therapy is an incredibly helpful and heartwarming thing for people. I’ve never seen a Donkey up close but they look like such adorable and loving creatures. Thank you for shining a light on this. ❤
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I love donkeys so much 💕 i would love to visit the sanctuary one day! They seem like such gentle animals ♥️
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I’ve been lucky enough to visit The Donkey Sanctuary not too far from me a few times and can see for myself the great work they do. They are such an amazing charity and it’s great that you’ve taken the time to share a bit about them to raise awareness.
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I love the idea of these sanctuaries so much – i would love to visit one day 😁 I love helping them out as much as I can 🙂 x
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I have heard of this charity before, I even think I got a card from someone one year.
This year I’m not sending cards but instead donating to the charity that supported Mum in her last weeks x
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I love their cards so much – they have such a lovely collection of things to buy, especially at this time of year, to support them 🙂 it’s a great idea to support charities always of course, but especially around the holidays x
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I love the Donkey Sanctuary.The cards are so sweet! Anything that is dedicated to humane treatment for animals and children always finds a place in my heart! 🙂
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They’re super cute – i would love to visit the sanctuary to see my adopted donkey ♥️😁
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Aww, yes!
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Oh my gosh, that is so adorable! I’ve never heard of this charity before but they’re such angels.
Those Christmas cards are gorgeous as well. As an animal lover, I’d love to get one myself, haha! This deserves to get more awareness, truly!
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They have such an adorable range all available for adoption 😍 You can pick on based on their personality and what they like to do. Activities usually include things like wellington boot fights and eating carrots ♥️
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This is such a great charity ❤️ I normally donate to doctors without boarders and “mothers help” which is a smaller charity that helps mom and dads who need an extra hand.
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These both sound like such wonderful charities. I haven’t heard of the latter but I’m going to give it a Google now as it sounds tremendous. I’m glad you like the sound of the Donkey Sanctuary ♥ x
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I’ve never heard of this charity before but they sound so brilliant! Those cards are so adorable too x
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They are amazing for sure and the work they do is brilliant ♥ I need to put it on my list of things to do in 2020 – see my donkey 😀 Adopting one sure made a great gift for me 🙂 x
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Oh my gosh this is so sweet! I’m going to have to look into adopting a donkey for a friend’s birthday thats comingup!
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That is such a wonderful idea ♥ It makes such a fantastic gift – I know of a few more people that have arranged an adoption since I wrote this post and it truly warms my heart! Be sure to get one that fits your friend’s personality 😂😁 x
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I love the Donkey Sanctuary! The work they do is so incredible and vital to helping donkeys around the world. I visited the sanctuary when I was little and loved seeing all the donkeys, would love to go back someday. Those Christmas cards are beautiful! 🧡
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Their cards are literally some of my favourite ones! I don’t tend to send many cards these days, but I love these ones for sure! I really need to visit the sanctuary in 2020 and see my little Billy O! Thank you so much for reading my post too ♥ x
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This is so incredibly cool! What a fun and unique way to give back this Christmas! I had no idea that donkeys were so integral to people’s lives. And they’re so cute!! Great post 🙂
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Thank you so much ♥ I love animals so much and donkeys are one of the most prominent animals in the Christmas story so very fitting for the season. I really hope I will be able to visit the sanctuary in 2020! x
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I think it’s lovely to give back at at, or any time of year really, and the Donkey Sanctuary is such a great choice. I’ve heard about the work they do before and admire you for adopting Billy O. 😊 I’ve been a member of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust for 11 years now and love knowing that I’m supporting local wildlife.
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My aunt has also adopted my partner a donkey this year for Christmas and it ‘arrived’ today, which is awesome and my partner loves it so much ♥. 11 years is incredible, I love animal charities so much (the ones for people are great too, of course!) x
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How fun! I had no idea you could adopt a donkey!
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Indeed ♥ I’m glad you liked my post 🙂 The Donkey Sanctuary do some amazing work – I hope I get to visit them in 2020 x
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Omg, I didn’t know what’s happening with donkeys in other countries! I am really shocked! People are so cruel! I am happy that there are still people who care! Thank you for this post, we need more to talk about animal problems and help them!
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Thank you so much ♥ I’m glad you found my post informative and useful! The sanctuary does such incredible work and I would love to visit and see my donkey sometime next year! All charities are important but the animal ones are especially close to my heart, especially for the animals you would not expect, like this one. We all know about endangered this and endangered but animals do not have to be endangered to need our help! ♥ x
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