Blog Minx

With so many people asking for money and worthy fundraising organizations, how do you decide where to send your donations (if anywhere)?

I tend to stick with animals. As a kid I used to do voluntary work at the local RSPCA, which involved a few icky chores like cleaning out litter trays, but I also got to take the dogs for a walk and play with the kittens (that’s me on the right, in the pic ). These days I’m less hands-on because I move around a lot, but I still donate a monthly amount to them, which goes towards animal vaccinations and food.

I also ‘adopt’ a zoo animal once a year. The first one I sponsored was called Ned, a serval kitten. Servals come from Africa and look like regular cats except they’re larger and with big ears on a small head. Young Ned had been rejected by his mother and, once his mournful photo was published in the local paper, received a swamp of ‘adoptions’. Since then I’ve adopted meerkats, orangutan and red pandas.

Apart from the fact that the cuter animals tend to get more attention, I think it’s a great way to help zoos, which have become much more about preserving endangered species and mimicking their natural environments than forcing the animals to perform tricks and shoving them in tiny cages. Some still have a way to go, though.

If you do want to sponsor an animal I’d suggest doing it locally so you can keep an eye on where the money goes, or at least donate to a well-known organization like the WWF, and do a bit of reading first.

What causes do you support? Or do you put yourself up for adoption.