Kind-hearted animal lovers have saved the Donegal Donkey Sanctuary from a season of struggles thanks to a successful GoFundMe campaign.
The Donegal Donegal Sanctuary was forced to appeal for urgent support this month to meet the cost of caring for over 100 rescue donkeys.
An online campaign has collected more than €10,000 this month to help sanctuary owners Danny and Sandra Curran continue their vital services.
The Donegal Donegal Sanctuary, outside Raphoe, had high hopes for re-opening their visitor facility as early as Easter. However, Covid restrictions have put doubts on reopening anytime in the near future.
The loss of support from visitors and international tourists has placed a severe financial pressure on the centre.
Thanks to hundreds of donations, the Currans have now gained the help they need to save vulnerable donkeys, many of whom have been subjected to terrible cruelty and left to fend for themselves.
Due to the constant need for funds to care for donkeys’ food, transport and vet bills, the centre has decided to keep their GoFundMe open for anyone who wishes to donate at any time.
Danny and Sandra celebrated the success of their appeal at the weekend and said: “Yay! We have made it! Thank you so much to everyone who donated and helped us reach our goal.
“We are very grateful. Your kindness enables us to keep going with the work that we love. Some kind supporters have suggested that we leave the gofundme page open so that they can donate from time to time over the coming months so we have decided to do that.
“No donation is ever too small so if you can spare a few euro please feel free to use the link. Thank you once again.”
If you wish to donate to keep the sanctuary going please see https://gofund.me/eca449cd