International animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary is today launching an appeal for donkey enthusiasts to volunteer at its headquarters in Sidmouth, Devon. The Donkey Sanctuary has been trialling a new volunteer programme, which has so far resulted in 80 Quality Time Volunteers assisting with the care of donkeys on the charity’s UK farms, seven volunteers leading summer guided walks around the Sidmouth sanctuary and a number of others assisting in volunteer office roles for the charity’s various departments.

The programme has proved such a success that the charity is now looking to roll out the scheme on a larger scale across more of its departments. With 2,000 donkeys being cared for on the charity’s UK farms, and projects to alleviate the suffering of sick and injured donkeys in 28 other countries worldwide, there are plenty of ways for people to help out.

Sue Cockayne from The Donkey Sanctuary’s Human Resources department says: “We have been delighted with the help and support we have so far received from our fantastic volunteers. The scheme has been so positive for us that we would like to invite more volunteers to help us with various aspects of our work; whether it is office based, talking to our visitors, outside with our teams keeping The Donkey Sanctuary looking great or spending quality time with our donkeys – there are many opportunities for people to help us and we would love to hear from anyone with a few hours to spare.”

Volunteers can give as much or as little time as they like, whether it is a few hours a week or a few hours a month. Full training will be given.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact our volunteer co-ordinator, Kay Faulkner, on 01395 573066 or visit www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/volunteer for more information.