Caring for employees at the Donkey Sanctuary
A charity helping donkeys in Cork has been praised for the compassion and support it shows its employees.
The Donkey Sanctuary Ireland, based in Liscarroll near Mallow, received a special award at the prestigious CIPD in Ireland HR Awards ceremony in Dublin’s Mansion House at the weekend.
The annual event showcases the outstanding work and impact of the people profession in Ireland.
CIPD in Ireland is the professional body for HR and people professionals around the country.
More than 70 organisations made the list of finalists for this year’s awards programme which was divided into 14 categories covering a range of topics central to the sector.
This year the judges awarded their Special Commendation prize to Donkey Sanctuary Ireland, to recognise the way it has supported its employees in difficult times.
The high level of demand for the sanctuary has been challenging for employees when they cannot deal with all requests. In response, wellbeing was brought to the fore.
Director of CIPD Ireland Mary Connaughton said the judges recognised the efforts of the team, which had applied for the awards under the category of Embedding a Culture of Workplace Wellbeing.
“The team at the Donkey Sanctuary showed real compassion as they worked to train mental health first aiders to support employees. The judges wanted to highlight how they recognised the care and support needs of the mental health first aiders and organised counselling to help them deal with their own stresses. This care is a central aspect of supporting mental health and they wanted to recognise the Donkey Sanctuary for this approach.”
Since its opened its gates in 1987, the Donkey Sanctuary Ireland has loved and cared for more than 5,600 neglected and abandoned donkeys from across Ireland.
Today, the Donkey Sanctuary Ireland has more than 1,700 donkeys and mules in its care.
More than 530 of these donkeys reside in private guardian homes throughout the country as part of its Rehoming Scheme and the remainder of the donkeys are based at the charity’s four farms in the Liscarroll area.