17/06/2026
If all our lovely customers could like and share, they do such good work 😍
I don’t often talk about the reality behind running the charity but I think it’s important people understand where we are right now.
Like many small charities, we’re feeling the pressure. Donations have dropped, costs have increased and at the moment we are spending more than we’re bringing in. Every penny is carefully considered and we work hard to make sure funds go where they are needed most.
What many people don’t see is that the charity is not just the hands-on animal care (although that alone is a huge commitment). Behind the scenes there is a mountain of work that has to happen every single day.
Last year I made the incredibly terrifying decision to leave my job because we reached a point where the charity needed someone fully focused on moving it forward and keeping everything running.
That means everything from IT, social media, HR, rotas, policies, training, protocols, bookkeeping, purchasing and responding to messages, alongside the endless calls and enquiries we receive. Some days we can have upwards of 50 calls, and as one person it simply isn’t possible to answer every single one. There’s no time to be sick or tired or ill.
Our volunteers are amazing. We are fortunate that we don’t struggle to find people willing to help with the animals because that is the rewarding part people naturally want to be involved with. But the less visible work, the paperwork, planning and running of the organisation, still has to be done.
Our shop continues to help support us but it is not currently covering the costs of running the whole charity. It’s helping more than it’s hindering so that’s something. We’ve also had to make the difficult decision to cancel our country fairs this year. They were only a small part of our income, but the amount of time needed to organise myself and them just isn’t possible alongside everything else at the moment.
The difficult truth is that without more support, we have to consider what the future looks like. The thought of not being here to help the animals that need us is something we don’t even want to imagine. We want to move forward. We want to grow. We want to keep up with the demand being placed on us every single day.
We don’t have the resources of the large national organisations. We are a small team doing everything we can but we need our community behind us. I’ve met some of the most amazing, inspiring people I have ever met in my life, right here in Scunthorpe.
If you’ve ever supported us, donated, volunteered, shared our posts, visited our shop or simply cheered us on, please know that it has made a difference.
We are not ready to give up, but we do need people to understand that small charities cannot survive on passion alone. They need practical support too.
Right now, every donation, every share and every bit of support really does matter. Please get behind your local wildlife rescue. I’m begging.
Thank you for reading, for caring and for standing alongside us.
Tara ❤️
https://linktr.ee/laxeyhousebirdrescue
