I'm raising £5,000 to help keep our social enterprise, Miniature Donkeys for Wellbeing, on the road delivering our amazing wellbeing visits.

I set Minidonks up after losing my mum to dementia back in 2017. I had taken my beautiful miniature donkeys to visit her when her dementia progressed to the point that she needed full time professional care. I saw how much it cheered up all the residents (and staff!) just seeing and stroking and talking to the donkeys. My dad was also living with dementia and this is him, after we lost mum, with little Millie.

Since 2017 we have visited hundreds of setting as diverse as care homes, special schools, psychiatric units, prisons, hospices and hospitals. We visit people with progressive conditions, acquired brain injury, recovering from stroke, living in sheltered accommodation, with complex needs, learning difficulties or people struggling with their mental health. We have made a positive impact on the lives of over 35,000 people.

We are fully licensed and insured. Our donkeys' welfare always comes first and they cost around £100 per month each to keep well fed and cared for. We have 6 in the herd, so you can imagine that the costs soon mount up. They see the farrier for their foot trims every 10-12 weeks, they get full dental check ups every year, as well as immediate veterinary treatment for the slightest of issues.

The impact that our visit have cannot be described easily. We have staff telling us that they have never seen a lady smile before and she has been laughing and smiling with the donkeys for 20 minutes. We had the manager of a sheltered housing setting tell us that one lady had not come out of her flat since moving in 2 years ago, and she came out to see the donkeys and stayed out, talking to other residents, making connections that had just not happened before. And we have been recognised for our work in some very special ways....

As a social enterprise, we do charge for our visits, but at a rate that is affordable, with some special discounts for community groups etc that cannot afford the full cost of a visit. We always operate at a loss, and rely on grants and donations to allow us to carry on, paying for the insurance, paying the feed bills, vet bills, staff costs, licence fees, transportation costs etc. The team have done some amazing fundraising things over the years, like one supporter walking 80 miles in 8 days in his 80th year, me running a 10k fun run in full donkey costume, a 12 hour sponsored piano play, and many more exploits and escapades.

We need your help, to keep the donations coming in so we can keep the visits rolling out. Whatever you can do to help will be gratefully received. No donation is too small, and every penny goes directly towards our running costs. So, if you can imagine, £2 would buy the carrots or apples for the donkeys' breakfast and tea. £5 would buy them a bale of hay. £10 would pay towards one of their regular farrier visits. £100 would cover a small percentage of our insurance bill. Your donations really do make what we do possible. Thank you.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, I will withdraw funds directly. It's the most efficient way to donate and saves time and costs.