Lemur Landings, the indoor play centre in Poole, donated a selection of Monkey World tickets to the adults supported by Diverse Abilities, Dorset’s disability charity for everyone to enjoy a day out.
The staff at Lemur Landings hosted a quiz night and raised £250 in memory of one of their previous colleagues. With the funds, they chose to sponsor the lemurs at Monkey World, and the tickets they received in return were donated to Diverse Abilities.
Megan Lillington, centre manager at Lemur Landings, commented: “This whole initiative was driven by our staff and their desire to give back in memory of their friend and colleague. Sponsoring the lemurs made complete sense, for obvious reasons, and as we’ve close links with Diverse Abilities over the years it made sense to pass the tickets on for everyone to enjoy a day out after a year of living in shielded isolation.”
24 adults supported by the charity enjoyed the day out with their support workers at the Wareham-based ape rescue centre, which is home to more than 250 primates.
All those who enjoyed the day out are supported by Diverse Abilities’ Supported Living Service, providing care in the home 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Abi Davies, manager at the charity’s Supported Living Service, added: “It has been wonderful to finally be able to take the adults we support back out into the community again. After a really tough year of shielding and isolation, we’re able to start making things feel somewhat normal once more. The smiles on all their faces throughout the day was so heart-warming, we’re so thankful to Lemur Landings for donating the tickets – it means the world.”
Visit lemurlandings.co.uk to find out more about the play centre, or diverseabilities.org.uk to find out more about the charity and its services.