VICE-president Marjorie Critchley welcomed 30 members to our June meeting at the Bilton Community Centre. Secretary Maureen French provided details of correspondence received during the month.
Our speaker this month was Alison Mann, who spoke to u
s about her work at EST Leeds. EST Leeds stands for the Elizabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys, and is a sister charity to the famous Donkey Sanctuary at Sidmouth in Devon. The Donkey Sanctuary was founded by Elizabeth Svendsen MBE in 1970, when she was left a legacy of 202 donkeys as a gift. 12,000 donkeys in the UK have now been taken into the care of the Sanctuary. Because donkeys have an empathy with children, Elizabeth wanted to work with the donkeys to help children with special needs and disabilities, and so she built the first purpose-built EST Centre at Sidmouth. There are now five centres around the country, and EST Leeds was the third to be built.
EST Leeds was opened in 1999 by Dame Thora Hird. Up to 150 children per week attend the centre to ride the donkeys, or drive a small cart if they are too heavy for the donkeys. During the summer months , mobile units take the donkeys to children in schools and hospitals, who, because of their disabilities, cannot travel to the Centre. The mobile units also visit adults in nursing homes, residential homes, and hospices. EST Leeds is completely self-funded, and relies totally on their fundraising events, regular donations, and, one of its most popular schemes, Adopt a Donkey.
A vote of thanks was given by Irene Carr, for a most interesting and inspirational talk, and the meeting was closed by vice-president Marjorie.
Our next meeting is on July 16, when our speaker will be Geoff Druett, giving us a talk entitled Fade to Black (Politics on TV). If you would like any information on Bilton WI, contact Gail Peckett on Harrogate 886416.
The full article contains 328 words and appears in Harrogate Advertiser newspaper.
