Donegal charity Animals In Need nominated in national Christmas giveback campaign

A Donegal charity dedicated to alleviating the suffering of animals has been nominated in a national competition.

Animals In Need is nominated in The BIG Christmas Giveback, which aims to shine a light on the positive work happening in local communities. Animals In Need is a registered charity that helps animals who have been abandoned, injured or surrendered. The charity raises funds to support its work through its charity shop.

The person or organisation with the most nominations in the competition will win a €1000 Town & City Gift Card, such as the ShopLK Gift Card or the Donegal Town Gift Card, with one person who nominated them winning a €500 gift card.

Animals in Need is run entirely by volunteers, like Gitte McMullin, who said they do it for the love of the animals.

“Animals In Need was set up in 2006, and animals we care for are fostered in homes,” said Gitte. “The charity has a close relationship with the dog pound; there are a lot of collie dogs who fail to become working dogs that need new homes. We also rehome 400 cats each year, and have a cattery with 30-40 cats.

“In August this year we had a distressing call about a kitten burnt in a fire. There was a metal bin for burning garden waste that was lit without the person knowing there was a kitten inside. When we got hold of the kitten, he was covered in fly eggs, badly dehydrated and covered in burns. We rushed the kitten to the vet, unsure he’d survive. But after a tough battle and lots of love, he did; we named him Phoenix.

“Today Phoenix is fully recovered and there are many more stories of animals like Phoenix who wouldn’t get any care without our help. As a charity, we also do lots of work with owned animals. With the cost of living, some people can’t afford to feed their pets and rather than the animals being surrendered, we help with pet food so the pet can stay in their home. We also help with neutering costs. The grant funding we receive from the government just about covers our vet bills. Our charity shops are a vital funding source for us.

“It’s wonderful to be nominated in The BIG Christmas Giveback. There will be many very deserving charities being nominated who are just as worthy of winning. If we did win though, we’d spend the gift card on pet food for the animals. As a charity, we try to help in any way we can. We do it for the animals as they don’t have a voice.”

Phoenix today and when he was first rescued

Other Letterkenny charities nominated so far in The BIG Christmas Giveback include Letterkenny Babies, SISTERS – Doing It For Themselves, Donegal Women’s Centre and We Care Food Bank.

Led by Letterkenny Chamber, the record breaking ShopLK Gift Card marked its 20th anniversary in 2024 also launching a new digital version of the card. Sales of ShopLK Gift Cards for 2024 reached €7,059,234, an increase of €1.3million on 2023. The card can be spent with over 270 businesses and is popular for gifts and employee rewards.

Toni Forrester, CEO at Letterkenny Chamber, said: “It’s heart-warming to see the nominations for charities, community groups and individuals in Letterkenny and across County Donegal in The BIG Christmas Giveback. Charities like those nominated provide vital services in our community, all run by volunteers who generously give their time to help others. Please take a moment to nominate your chosen charity or community group in The BIG Christmas Giveback.”

The ShopLK Gift Card is part of the award winning Town & City Gift Card concept from fintech Miconex active across Ireland.

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Colin Munro is the CEO of Miconex and said: “The ShopLK Gift Card consistently gives back to the Letterkenny community, making supporting local businesses easy, enjoyable and convenient, particularly at Christmas as the card is used as gifts and employee rewards. Like the ShopLK Gift Card, The BIG Christmas Giveback is also about giving back and it’s fantastic to see the nominations coming in for individuals and organisations across Donegal.”

Nominate a person or organisation in The BIG Christmas Giveback at www.lovelocalwin.ie

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