Elisabeth Svendsen Trust

A large steel frame for a new donkey-riding therapy centre for children with special needs just outside Belfast has now been erected, and a ribbon cutting ceremony is being held to celebrate on Thursday 29th July at 10am.

Staff from the Devon headquarters of the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys charity (EST) will visit the centre in Ballypalady near Templepatrick to celebrate the event. The occasion was re-scheduled after an attempt to cut the ‘first sod’ earlier in May was hindered by travel chaos caused by the volcanic ash cloud.

During half term holidays, EST Sidmouth allocates 'Drop In' days. This means that children with special needs are able to visit the centre with their families and enjoy the facilities that we offer, free of charge.

Back Lane Stables Riding Club in Leeds have chosen the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys (EST) as their local charity of the year, and visited the centre on Saturday 10th July to adopt William the donkey.

To celebrate their first anniversary, members of the club visited the Leeds centre, which provides a free of charge service to children with special needs and disabilities. Members witnessed first hand the benefits of donkey riding therapy, and got acquainted with William.

Summer holidays start next week and our schools finish for the summer holidays. During the summer holidays EST Manchester have riding days throughtout July, August and the begining of September 2010 from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm. To find out more and to book a session, please contact EST Manchester.

Do you have a spare fridge?

If so, EST Leeds would love to borrow it for their Summer Fair on Sunday 25th July 2010. With a bar, barbecue, strawberries and cream and a cafe, we need lots of fridge space! If you can help, please contact EST Leeds on 0113 2619249. Collection and return can be arranged by EST.

With the World Cup well under way, football mania has even rubbed off on us donkeys!

So many visitors have been talking about the World Cup lately that I decided to see what all the fuss was about and practise a few ball skills myself As you can see from my video, I’m a pretty talented donkey and can lend my hoof to most things!

A team of staff from our donkey-riding therapy centre in Eccup have signed up to take part in the Jane Tomlinson’s Leeds 10k charity run on Sunday 4th July and have today launched their JustGiving website to invite people to donate.

The team are now on a mission to raise funds for our Leeds Centre with a web appeal and by gathering sponsors. The centre helps over 170 local special needs children every week by providing donkey riding therapy and other facilities.