Donkey sanctuary receives £100,000 windfall
A wealthy widow has left £100,000 to the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary in her will — despite only visiting it once, ten years ago.
Sanctuary founder Cherryl Clarke said 89-year-old Irene Day’s legacy is the largest sum ever donated to the charity.
She told a local newspaper: “It was absolutely amazing and we are very, very grateful to Mrs Day, because for a small charity like us, this was a massive amount of money, which will help donkeys for many years to come,” said Cherryl.
Despite only making one visit to the sanctuary, Mrs Day, who lived in the Portsmouth area, used to send a donation every Christmas. They found out about the legacy earlier this month.
The sanctuary won’t receive the money for another 12 months but it will help finance a new facility.
“We have just borrowed £260,000 to develop another farm at the sanctuary and the donation will help pay some of that back, as well as the upkeep of the building,” said Mrs Clarke.
The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary was one of 16 different organisations in Hampshire to receive a share of £1 million from Mrs Day in her will.
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She died in 2008 and was the widow of George Day, founder of GA Day Builders’ Merchants.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.