Recently, we were asked by our charity partners, Bodmin Pets at Home, to visit the store and complete some paperwork for their upcoming Santa Paws appeal, but when we got there, they had an ENORMOUS surprise for us. They appeared with a cheque for £50,000 from their charity, the Pets Foundation! 🙌 Not only that, but they are hoping to donate another £50,000 next year too! 😮🤗 Needless to say, we are thrilled and deeply grateful, our team were absolutely speechless! The Pets at Home store team were hugely excited for us too, we are so honoured to have their team’s support. 🎉This incredible support empowers us to continue making a difference and reach even more people and animals in need. Huge thanks to all our donors, supporters, and everyone who believes in our mission, this is only possible because of you! ⭐

Hugs Annual Youth Well-Being Impact Report

We are thrilled to share our youth well-being annual impact report, highlighting another year of incredible achievements. From transforming the lives of children and young people to providing loving homes for rescue animals, our journey has been nothing short of inspiring. Discover the heartwarming stories and the amazing progress we’ve made together. Your support has been instrumental in making this possible. You can read the full report by clicking on this link https://hugsfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Youth-Wellbeing-Impact-Report-23-24.pdf. Thank you for being a part of our mission!

 ew song has been released to mark World Autism Acceptance Week, and it is the brainchild of 2 autistic NHS colleagues in Cornwall.

Ian Summers, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and David Kirwan, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust are the driving force behind ‘Welcome Home’. David says the idea came from a simple conversation about how to promote autism acceptance and grew from there:

“Everyone involved gave their time freely, because we believe in supporting positive change. This idea of an uplifting, hopeful and positive song was really what we wanted. That is what happened and that is amazing. The takeaway is that there is hope and that inclusion is important. My biggest thing that I really do love in all areas I work in is language. The change in language from the things we struggle with and the challenges we face, to hope and heading forward. The title of the song is ‘Welcome Home’. The lyrics are that you have arrived, you are home again, welcome home. You are with the people who understand you. It is about understanding and it is wider than just the autistic community, it is inclusion for everyone. Inclusion is where my heart and soul is”.

The song was written and voiced by confidence specialist and local singer Lucy Cox, using language shared by the Trusts’ autism and neurodiversity networks. Lucy is a parent of autistic children and tells us that as soon as she heard the idea, she was “in with both feet.” It is important that people really listen to the lyrics of this song. For those people who do not directly understand the autistic experience, try to empathise with how it must feel to believe you do not fit in and there is not a place for you, but also to feel like there is a hope for the future. To our wonderful autistic community, I want them to listen to the lyrics and feel that sense of hope. To believe there is so much more good stuff ahead, and to feel heard and seen”.

All money raised from the release of the song will go towards The Hugs Foundation. Hazel is the charity’s Youth Service Manager:

“We have helped over 700 children here at the charity and we hope to be able to continue to deliver that. Because we are a charity, we cannot do that without support. This song means so much to the charity and we are so excited. The song is absolutely amazing. When we all first listened to it, we were just frozen to our seats really. Realising how much it resonated with everybody in the Hugs team, we know it is going to mean so much to so many”.

‘Welcome Home’ is now available on Spotify. Listen to the song on Spotify here https://open.spotify.com/album/4wFpDK5xoD9tUZAzt2mKrP

Lucy has also set up a fundraiser on Just Giving, in support of The Hugs Foundation. Read more about the fundraiser here https://www.justgiving.com/page/autism-acceptance

Meet Poncho, Luna (right in photo) & Mabel (left in photo)

We now have four donkeys here at Hugs! Many of you will already know our beautiful donkey, Oscar, who has been with Hugs since 2021 and is part of the well-being team. Oscar arrived with a herd of miniature Shetlands when their owner could sadly no longer care for them, due to ill health. He formed a bond with our rescue pony Dude, but we knew he ideally needed his own donkey friends. Oscar is usually a little sad when Dude goes to his care home visits on a Tuesday afternoon, but now the new rescues are here, he is feeling a little happier and is slowly making friends with the other donkeys. Poncho has already made friends with Oscar and the famous Dude and they have been having lots of fun in the field!

We were recently contacted by an owner who, due to serious ill health, could no longer care for their three donkeys. It was an incredibly sad situation and the donkeys owner had turned to other charities to help but they couldn’t. With the urgency of the situation, our team desperately tried to make space to be able to take them in, which they were able to do thanks to some amazing homes coming forward for other ponies, freeing their spaces, although we are now full again!

We welcomed Luna, Mable and Poncho to Hugs and are pleased to say they have now finished their isolation, with clear strangles testing. All the donkeys have settled in well and have been making friends.

Luna unfortunately has an abscess and has been using the new turnout area connected to the barn to help with her recovery. She also has seedy toe so is a bit uncomfortable on her front feet with that and her abscess. Both our farrier and vet have seen her and prescribed a course of treatment but there is evidence of multiple previous abscesses, which could indicate a more serious problem historically, so we may need to investigate further with x-rays etc. With our vets bills already averaging £3,000 a month, we are struggling to find funding to help anymore. We simply wouldn’t be here without the kind donations from our supporters. If you are able to, please donate to help recues like Luna and her friends. Our regular donors are now donating over £1,500 monthly. How amazing would it be if we could double that and know that our vets bills were paid for every month?!

You can donate through this link. Thank you for your kindness.  https://thehugsfoundation.beaconforms.com/form/656e5db6

Luna has also just received her sweet itch vaccination, which will help to prevent irritation caused by insects, which can lead to skin inflammation.

Mabel is the friendliest of the donkeys. She loves attention, treats and cuddles! The new turnout area at the back of the main barn has been perfect for the donkeys, they have been able to keep out of this horrible weather and recover.

Did you know? Donkeys coats are not waterproof like a horse or pony. This means the water absorbs, making them very cold and wet. We are so glad that the all-weather turnout area is completed for them to use. All three donkeys will get to meet the farrier this week, and in the future, we will be looking to introduce the donkeys to our Shetland ponies, who will be in the field with the track system. This will help with the correct management of the donkeys, encouraging movement and offering shelter, hay, and straw. We are excited to share their journeys with you, and we will keep you updated on any donkey news, including lots of adorable photos and videos….