This is how it all began.....
I found out about the joys of owning a rabbit fairly late in life, as a family our pets had included guinea pigs and hamsters and even a gerbil at one time, we’d always done the traditional thing and gone to the local pet shop to buy our “pets” we came out all excited but with little knowledge of how to care for them.
Approx 5 years ago I moved house and with it came a large garden and a chance to fulfil my daughters dream of having a rabbit (she was now grown up, so she could share the responsibility of looking after it) this was going to be a new experience to us, so I thought I’d do some research on the internet to find out about them and their needs - I was amazed to find how many rescues and sanctuaries existed and some were even local to me.
My next step was to join a rabbit forum where a lot of rescues actively posted about their work, I could see the challenges they faced and the horror stories they witnessed. I became a regular visitor and finally a volunteer at one local rescue and was horrified to find that people gave up these beautiful animals so easily and to find that most rescues were constantly full with waiting lists.
THERE ARE UP TO 33,000 RABBITS IN RESCUES IN THIS COUNTRY.
I started fundraising for 2 local rescues by making and selling hand knitted bunnies but realised this wasn’t enough, there are hundreds of rescues doing such a hard job but getting so little recognition for it.
I got together with a friend and asked the rescues and sanctuaries on the forum if they would be interested in joining an idea called Pledge a Pound, this is where people can send a voluntary contribution each month and the total would be divided between the rescues. There was a lot of interest and so an idea was born.
This started in March 2010 with 27 rescues but unfortunately some had to close their doors during the year and they were no longer eligible to take part in the fundraiser.
Pledge a pound has come a long way since then, each month 3 or 4 rescues or sanctuaries are helped with a donation of £75 this depends on the amount of contributions that are received for that month.
The criteria for rescues to be in pledge a pound is:
You must allow pledge a pound to contact your vets to ensure you are known to them as a rescue or sanctuary.
You must be open and actively re-homing and taking in unwanted animals (unless you are currently full, but still have a waiting list when a place becomes available).
If you close, unfortunately you will no longer be eligible to receive donations.
If you would like to help the 26 rescues and sanctuaries that Pledge a pound currently supports then all you need to do is either join in one of our fundraisers or please donate a minimum of £1 per month, either via Paypal, bank transfer (you can set up a standing order) or by cheque.
Every penny of every donation goes to the rescues that are chosen each month. No administration costs are withdrawn from the donations and are in fact paid for by the founding members.