Could you help The Cinnamon Trust in their work with older people and their pets?

The Cinnamon Trust is a national charity that is dedicated to helping people who are terminally ill or elderly to care for their pets when they are no longer able to manage this fully, meaning that people who might otherwise have to give up their pets or risk not fulfilling all of their needs are able to keep their companion with them, even when things get tough.

In this article, we will look at the work of The Cinnamon Trust in more detail, including covering the services that the Trust offers, and how you may be able to help them. Read on to learn more!

What does The Cinnamon Trust do?

The primary objective of The Cinnamon Trust is to support people who are elderly or ill in preserving their relationship with their pets when they otherwise might not be able to do this on their own.

The Trust offers a wide range of support services tailored to meet the needs of people in a whole variety of situations, including the following core services:

• Providing a network of over 15,000 community volunteers nationwide who work to help with practical care for the animals of people who need help, which may include things like dog walking, bringing supplies for people who are housebound, or helping to transport pets and their owners to the vet.
• Enabling a national fostering service for people who need to spend some time in hospital, allowing the pet in question to enjoy a period of short term care with another person, rather than having to go into kennels or be surrendered to a shelter.
• Offering long term care for the pets of people who have died, or moved into residential accommodation where pets are not permitted.
• Helping with long term fostering or adoption when required, which also permits the previous owner of the pet to keep updated on their progress and new life with photos, letters and possibly visits.
• Recognising the services of pet-friendly care homes, and maintaining a list of those that fit the bill.

The benefits of pets for the infirm or elderly

Anyone who has ever owned a pet will know all about the range of benefits that pet ownership brings, including companionship, protection from potential threats, a loving bond and many more advantages. For many people, their pets are their best friends and possibly, the only other living creature that they have to talk to on a regular basis.

Pets provide reassurance, a sense of being loved and for a great many people, a vital reason for living when things get tough. However, all of these benefits can be gone in an instant if they are replaced with fear and anxiety over losing the pet or being unable to care for them, and this is where The Cinnamon Trust sets out to help.

For people who need help

If you or someone that you know might benefit from the services of The Cinnamon Trust, you can contact the charity using the form on their website. The Trust aims to match up people in need of help with volunteers local to them who may be able to help, with the goal of enabling a longstanding mutually beneficial arrangement for the owner, the pet and the volunteer.

Volunteers

The Cinnamon Trust relies on their national network of volunteers in order to be able to help people in need and their pets, but without sufficient volunteers, the Trust cannot help everyone who might need it.

New volunteers who are able to make a regular commitment to helping someone are always needed, and you do not have to commit to say, walking someone’s dog every day if this is not possible for you; you can also volunteer to help in other ways, such as checking in on an elderly person and their pet now and then, helping to bring them pet-related shopping, or being available to help to transport their pets to the vet.

Volunteering with the Trust provides as many benefits for the volunteers as it does for the pet and owner, including the chance to make new friends, the opportunity to spend time with animals if you cannot have a pet of your own, and the knowledge that what you are doing is making a direct and hugely positive impact on the life of both the owner and their pet.

How you can help

Like all charities, The Cinnamon Trust relies on volunteers and donations in order to keep going, and there are a huge variety of different ways in which you can help the Trust to do their work.

Volunteers and pet foster parents are always in high demand, but you can also make a financial donation or offer help in other ways, particularly if you have special skills in a certain area that may be useful. You can contact the Trust via their website, linked at the top of the page.