Cook book raises funds for donkey charity

A book launch with a difference took place in Norwich today as donkeys delivered a new cook book in aid of charity. 

The tome - called Maude's Makes and Bakes - contains anecdotes and recipes with proceeds from the sales going to the local charity Miniature Donkeys for Wellbeing.

The charity - also known as Mini Donks - takes donkeys into community groups and care homes as a therapeutic way of releasing stress and helping conditions like dementia.  

Alongside recipes from care home residents are those contributed by supporters of "Mini Donks", including celebrity chef, Delia Smith, Richard Hughes, director of The Assembly House and Lady Dannatt, HM Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk.

Kingsley Healthcare's regional operations director Georgina Johnston, who has contributed a recipe for Welsh Tea Loaf, said: "As a company, we have been proud to sponsor the donkeys for a second year. It has been a difficult time for the organisation with donkey visits not being able to go ahead during the lockdowns".

Georgina knows how the donkeys can make a difference to care home residents: "It's marvellous how the donkeys can even go into the rooms of bed-bound residents. They never fail to bring a smile to people's faces."

Listen to charity volunteer Linda White:

Mini Donks founder Sarah McPherson, from Hempnall, south of Norwich, was supporting her mother Patricia Little through the later stages of dementia when she discovered that donkeys were the one thing that really brought a smile back to her face.

"The calm nature of the donkeys made her calm and it made her smile which was something that had become quite rare," she said.

Following her mother's death three years ago, Ms McPherson resolved to let others enjoy the therapeutic benefits of her donkeys and set up a social enterprise called Mini Donkeys for Wellbeing. She said: "It is tremendous to see how the donkeys spark so many memories when we go around the care homes. It brings back memories of donkey rides as children and, in Norfolk and Suffolk, many people come from a farming background and may have had a donkey."

To pre-order a copy of the recipe book contact the team through the website