CHRISTMAS shoppers can help Newton Abbot-based charity the Mare and Foal Sanctuary through a new gift card scheme.

The charity which cares for horses and ponies is one of the beneficiaries of a partnership gift cards scheme exclusively to be used in 41 charity shops in Devon.

The partnership is also being accepted by the RSPCA, Little Valley Animal Shelter and Hospicare as well as national charities Marie Curie, YMCA and the Children’s Society in the region.

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary cares for horses and ponies with complex needs and is working on a special project to build a high-intensity welfare unit for the animals they rescue.

The Charity Shop Gift Card is a social enterprise developed in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to helping charities to drive up their own income by tapping them into the £7 billion gift card market for the first time while contributing to a reduction of waste sent to landfill.

The Charity Shop Gift Card is a sustainable gift and offers consumers the opportunity to both contribute to support the work of charities such as the Mare and Foal Sanctuary.

The gift cards themselves are recyclable and compostable and are available from participating charities, at supermarkets, other major high street retailers and from www.thecharityshopgiftcard.co.uk.

Dawn Green, retail area manager for Mare and Foal Sanctuary, said: ‘We were very keen to launch the gift card before Christmas as we think it’s a great sustainable gift for our supporters.

‘As well as raising vital funds for the sanctuary, it’s a great way to shop more sustainably.’

Lee Fellows, co-founder of The Charity Shop Gift Card, said: ‘We’re thrilled to add Mare and Foal Sanctuary’s shops to the network of charities accepting the gift card. We’ve got more shops joining soon but Devon has really embraced the gift card and its great that there are so many options to buy preloved across the county.’