reacties van kinderen

Just a note to thank you for this incredible night for disabled children,
can I say what a top night this was for our family. Daniel really enjoyed getting up close and personal with the animals and the keepers and they were wonderful with him.
The volunteers were fantastic and all the extra characters made it so thrilling for Daniel who is crazy about Star Wars.
It was a joy to see how much fun he had and his brother Keith as well.
It was also a reminder to us to be grateful that Daniels version of ASD is mild when we saw the devotion of other parents whose children have much more severe disabilities and who would otherwise find an outing like that impossible.
So a big Thank you to you and your staff for your organising of the event and a big thank you to Taronga Zoo. I hope that this new programme will continue because the benefits to families are immeasurable.

I attended the Dream Night on Thursday night with my family. My 6 year old son Brandon has Aspergers Syndrome. I just wanted to say THANK YOU, it was an absolutely MAGICAL experience and I cant remember a time where we as a family have all enjoyed it so much. The atmosphere was fantastic. The people were lovely. Thank you so much for putting on this event, I myself cannot speak more highly of it. Thank you also on behalf of Brandon's siblings. I thought it was exceptionally thoughtful to give them a penguin as we were leaving and Brandon was given his " treasure trove".

Last Thursday night’s Dreamnight at the Zoo was simply a magical event. It is an occasion which I will never forget and an experience in which I was tremendously proud to participate.

How do I begin to express the overwhelming pleasure of seeing such wide smiles on the faces of all the visitors, the parents, the carers, the siblings and most importantly the children themselves? The entire atmosphere for the whole night was one of giggles, laughter, excitement and pure joy. It is equally wonderful to see children under palliative care in an environment where their presence seems completely unremarkable. That alone is a huge achievement.

From the children’s first encounter with the Jedi Knights and Storm Troopers to their departure with their wonderful gift bags, all of it was perfect. The Zoo’s generosity in allowing the children not simply to see the animals but to touch them, pat them, hold them and in some cases even feed them was an unexpected and deeply appreciated bonus. The fire truck, police car, football stars and of course the Santa Show were all unexpected delights that not only the children but even the adults just adored.

Many parents and carers told me what an incredible evening it was, from the rides on the Sky Safari to the happiness of simply spending time with other families outside the hospital wards. There was an air of genuine caring community spirit that pervaded the entire experience.

Taronga Park itself could not have been seen to better advantage than seeing the ideal sunset against the Sydney skyline. What a wonderful time of year and time of day to hold such an event.

So my deepest and most sincere thanks to every individual (and animal) concerned and to the Taronga Park Zoo Management Team who put such effort and love into the organisation of this fantastic night.

Our visit to the zoo has to be among the 5 most happiest experiences we have had since my 2 grandsons were born 4 and 5 years ago. They both suffer from autism. Generally taking the whole family out is simply too hard but we decided to make the effort and visit the zoo. We are so glad we did.

Every member of the staff, without exception, was faultlessly welcoming, happy, helpful, warm, forgiving, non judgmental and understanding and went the extra mile to ensure that every child had a memorable experience.

From the time we entered the gate the boys were ecstatic. The 4 year old's obsession is dinosaurs so to be met at the entry by what he believed to be 2 real baby dinosaurs was more than his little heart could contain. The 5 year old's obsession is the Wiggles and low and behold, we meet 2 Wiggles characters in the zoo. Their little 2 year old sister lives for Dorothy the Dinosaur, and she was there as well. WOW!!!!!!

The highlight of the night was being able to enter the giraffe enclosure and feed them. We had experiences that night with the children that we'd never dreamt were ever possible and we witnessed developments in the boys that may otherwise never had happened. By the end of the night they were: allowing strangers to interact with them, interacting with people in costume (previously this would have sent them both into a frenzied, screaming panic), touching various animals (aided and lead by their adventurous 2 year old sister), standing calmly in a crowd and excitedly running ahead to see things.

The entire night has meant more than I can express and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Since the birth of my grandsons I have gradually lost faith in the human race but your deeds on Thursday night have gone a great way to healing that wound. I just can not thank you enough for everything. It was a top night.

And the final word from the Taronga Conservation Society Australia Director and CEO

I think it is safe to say we have never experienced so much joy and so many warm smiles on site ever. A very special thank you to all of you for the unbelievable enthusiasm and generosity offered.

Thanks to your efforts there are over 1300 kids, parents and carers who were able to escape the daily challenges and ongoing worries for a fabulous 4 hours of magic. The appreciation of parents and carers was so obvious everywhere you went not to mention the delight on all our VIP's faces.

Congratulations and thank you for all the joy you created in so many different ways.

I am just writing to say what a wonderful night we had at the dreamnight on Saturday. It was a great experience and everybody was extremely helpful. My son was so excited and this was a great experience for him as he is a huge animal lover! Once again than you all for your efforts on the night it was outstanding.

Telephone Message - Guy O’Neill just called to say , “a great big thank you” to CWS staff and volunteers for giving the very special children and their parents such a wonderful evening at Dreamnight , he said opportunities to spend times like that with their children are very few and far between.

“Dreamnight at the Zamosc zoo” was really magic evening of joy, smiles and forgetting about everyday problems.

Some reactions from the guestbook of Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden:

Wonderful experience, thanks the zoo staff! – Ildiko

In the name of our twins thank you all for hosting us and guiding us around! – Golasz familiy

You’ve organised a wonderful programme for the whole familiy – keep on going! – Family of 4

For a memorable evening at the zoo! We hope no participants will ever forget this event. Thank you for letting us help you with this! – Eniko, volunteer

It was a fantastic, perfect night, many thanks to the leader of group #7!!! – Erika and her family

I liked it very-very much! (And I have got a real feather!!!) – 7 year old boy

Many thanks in the name of our little son! – Mum&Dad, group #18

Show must go on! We had a really great time – go on and make the same to all children! – L. Kriszt

That was fantastic experience, wonderful and exciting! – Flora, Nora, Ildiko

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As we watched our daughter pet Inga the rhino, our hearts were touched by the thoughtfulness that goes into this evening. -- Dan and Christine Boyle

Thank you so much for adding to the lives of my grandchildren and the other children and their moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and others who were lucky enough to be have been there. --Karen Smolk-Warren

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Ashley Smith, Chief Executive of the Hawk Conservancy Trust explained why the night was so important: “The Dreamnight was all about making a night of happy memories for the children and their families. We put on the party to give the children a chance to enjoy themselves meeting beautiful birds of prey and other animals and at least one night away from the difficulties they may be facing right now. I’d like to say a very big thank you to all the people and local organisations that made our first Dreamnight possible with their generosity, time and support.”

Graeme Murty, Captain of Reading Football Club, added: “What a wonderful night! It is such an amazing sight to see these children having so much fun and laughing, which is something they probably have not done in a long while. The Trust is such a great place to visit, and all of the staff have worked so hard to make sure that the children had an evening to remember”

The children and their families received their VIP invitations through Eastleigh-based Simon Says charity for bereaved children, Winchester and Andover Young Carers, the Honeypot charity, Castle School, Wolversdene special school, Icknield School and Wiltshire foster carers.

Paula Wiseman from Simon Says, child bereavement support charity said: “It was superb evening, such a fantastic event to be put on for our children, it will certainly be a night that they will remember. We must say a big thank you to all the staff and volunteers who were so helpful and so much fun. We thank the Trust so much for inviting us to attend”

Barbara May from Icknield school said after the event” It was such a marvelous evening; the children cannot stop talking about it. All of the staff were fabulous, very kind and welcoming. We hope that it will become an annual event”

Jackie Sedgewick from Andover Carers said” What a wonderful evening. The staff and volunteers out in so much effort to make it a lovely evening for the children. The Trust provided so much more than we were expecting, and the children enjoyed every moment.”

Marion Paviour Chairman of the Hawk Conservancy Trust trustees said” What a fantastic evening! I was so proud of all of the staff and volunteers. There was not a single person who was not putting every ounce of effort and enthusiasm into making it a night the children can remember. Words are not very good when it comes to expressing thanks, but everyone was superb. People I spoke to were thrilled with the whole event. “

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“Thank you for organizing such a wonderful meeting at the zoo. It is great, that so many people wanted to give their time to our children”

“It was really “dream night”, magic evening of happiness, smiles and forgetting about everyday problems”

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ALTHOUGH the VIP guests had just a few miles to travel, their special trip opened up a whole new world for many of the visitors to Dalton zoo’s Dreamnight.

For one evening only, South Lakes Wild Animal Park opened up exclusively for disabled and chronically ill children and their families. Unhurried by the usual crowds, the children had the space to explore the zoo and get really close to some of its inhabitants.

Wednesday’s unique event was organised by the park’s director, David Gill, to give children from the Furness area a carefree evening, enjoying opportunities that would not have been possible during the zoo’s regular opening hours.

Under the supervision of keepers, the children were encouraged to hand-feed lemurs and giraffes.

The animals all seemed to respond by keeping their guests enthralled with daring antics – but one mandrill, pictured above, nearly became an evening snack for a pygmy hippo it had been antagonising.

Three-year-old Jake Ellis was one of hundreds of youngsters who took part in Dreamnight. His mum, Jo-ann Ellis, said: “He had a go on the train and fed the giraffes bamboo shoots and fed the lemurs grapes.

“Unfortunately his little brother Luke was drenched so we didn’t stay too long. It’s just a shame it was a bit of a washout, but you can’t do anything about that.”

Mr Gill has been running Dreamnight for three years, but Jake was too poorly to attend last year. He was still having chemotherapy for cancer, but is now in remission.

“Jake is doing really well,” added Mrs Ellis. “He’s got a scan on Monday but it’s so far, so good. He’ll have been in remission for 15 months on October 5.”

Mrs Ellis is full of praise for Mr Gill and the park keepers for putting themselves out to host the annual event.

She said: “There were lots more people than the first time. Although it was more intimate then, I like the fact that more children get to benefit and that’s what they’ve done, invited more children this time.

“It was very good of him to open his park like that. It was very generous and all the staff were lovely.”

Dreamnight started in 2004 and was such a success that it is now a regular event at the Dalton zoo.

Mr Gill said: “Considering the weather was appalling we had a really good turnout. There was about 500 there and it was a very, very good night considering.

“Everybody seemed to enjoy it and we’ve had a couple of letters and emails since thanking us for doing it. I didn’t see one face that wasn’t smiling.

“Every single aspect of the business gave their time up, and Asda helped us out, plus Ginsters, Campbells and Ark Toys, who all donated food and toys.”
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We were invited to your new member at Utah;s Hogle Zoo. We used to go a lot to the Zoo but our local zoo has no special programs for the disabled. We used to travel to Calif and go to the zoos there as me and my autistic child did not have to pay, just for her big brother. Money is very very tight and my daughter loves the zoo. Well, we had our first dream night and we are thrilled at your wondeful idea. All I can say is that so many parents keep looking at each other. Never have so many been together in one place in my state. I took pictures of the wheelchairs. We use one as it calms my daughter's autism so we can walk around. What can I do to spread the word? We lived in Canad for a while and I did not hear about this there. Does it exist in the province of Ontario? Thank you for the wonderful night. PS our zoo was not designed as hanicap accessible so one place has many doors and they had people holding the doors for us.

“I wanted to e-mail you and thank you for sure a wonderful event. It was refreshing to be able to take my son out in public without people staring when he had a melt down or because he looks different. It would be fabulous if this was a recurring event. I know quite a few parents last night felt the same and I suggested we write you thank you letters and express our gratitude. I personally feel this event was a wonderful success. A lot of the children who attended get overwhelmed in large crowds so it was nice to have a smaller group of people. Thank you again.”
~Erica Villarreal

“THANK-YOU so much for the wonderful night at the zoo last night. Our
family really had a great time and we just wanted you to know how much we appreciate it. Thank-you for providing dinner too. It was nice not to have to worry about what we would eat. I appreciate you inviting 4 guests so my older child could go too. It's hard to be the older brother to a special needs child and he had a great time. By making it a private party, it was easier for my son with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder to handle. When the crowds get too big, he starts freaking out. I hope this can be a tradition.

“I cannot thank you enough for the Dream Night! It was so wonderful to hear my speech-delayed daughter really open up and talk a lot! This kind of activity is so beneficial for our special needs kids and I wish more people would allow them to have the ability to explore in a more private setting like you all did! Once again, thank you, and I can't wait for the next one!”

“I just wanted to thank everyone who made the night at the Zoo such a wonderful experience for our family. It was all so thoughtful and our children had the best time. Our 6 year old special needs daughter Kathryn LOVED the band and she tapped her leg almost the entire time we were eating and listening to the music. We loved seeing the animals and the exhibits and the face painting was incredible. It was a neat experience for us to be surrounded by other families with special needs children and be in an environment where we were not the odd ones out that everyone stared at. Thank you again for all the time and effort - we truly appreciated it!”

“I just wanted to say "thanks" for a fun time yesterday, and please pass on our thanks to all involved at the zoo. Our children had a fabulous time. Their ONLY complaint was that they didn't have long enough to enjoy everything!! Thanks again for a fun evening!”

“I wanted to take a minute to thank you for the most wonderful evening at the zoo. My 11 and 9 yr old, LOVE the zoo, and someday hope to work there. Our youngest child is 15 months old, and when I was pregnant they told us, he probably wouldn't live very long. His prognosis changed once he was born, but...he has had numerous doctor visits, and therapies, 5 surgeries, and 2 hospital stays. This has been very stressful on our family, and our older children have really suffered.

This past week, the baby was sick with sinus, and ear infections, as well as a viral syndrome causing a high fever. He and I spent 4 days in the hospital, getting his fever down, and keeping him hydrated. This was also my older kids last week of school. I missed all the activities, that I have NEVER missed. I was so sad, and guilt ridden for missing my 6th grader's last week of elementary school, and my 4 yr old, being uprooted from her home, and having to hang out at the hospital. I wanted so badly to do something special for them. Then a friend couldn't go, and offered us her tickets.

I am SO thankful to The Hogle Zoo, for making my older "normal" children feel special. While my baby LOVED the zoo, it was the first time in a long time, I have seen his brothers, and sister, so happy. It put a tear in my eye, watching them run through the zoo. And knowing that our family, was so important, that the Hogle Zoo went to so much effort. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! I've attached a picture, to prove my point!

I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed ourselves last night. My son has Cystic Fibrosis and Cerebral Palsy. Although we have a zoo pass we can only go certain times because of the heat is very hard on him. It was so nice to be able go at 6 and the temp was perfect for him. The food was delicious (haven’t eaten at chick fila for years and it was so good. The nuggets were great for Jake too. The people working were so nice. My son loved dancing to the band. Everything was just perfect. Thanks so much for everything!

(FORWARDED MESSAGE) “We just got back from the Hogle Zoo event, and what a wonderful evening it was! It was so delightful to be with all the other families, the weather was perfect, the volunteers were amazing, the food was great (Chick-filet provided, I'm not sure how to spell it), the people who did the face painting were unbelievable, I've never seen such artwork; the music was fantastic--I can't say enough good things. If you can get me an address of the people who put this evening together, I would be delighted to write a thank you note. One more thing, my son takes medication that makes him heat sensitive; and I'm sure lots of other kids with disabilities do, too. Therefore, this event being held in the cool of the evening made it very good for him; as well as for us old ladies who don't like to sweat. It was just perfect. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

"Thank you does not seem adequate to express my appreciation for the wonderful time our family had...for "Dreamnight" at the Museum. I am not a person who likes "special" treatment because our girls are all 'special' but I was very grateful for our special night. The face painting, craft tables [beaded bracelets, fossil making, mask making, finger puppets]...and the presentations ["Live and Sort of on the Loose" venomous snake program, black light scorpion hunting...] were all wonderful. Everyone was so patient with all the extra questions the girls asked. I have to mention the Bat Activity Station, especially, as we were there a long time. [We thoroughly enjoyed] looking through the bat pictures, displays, [hearing them through the bat sonar detector] and seeing real bats fly over our heads [and dip into the beaver pond for drinks]. The presenters never tired.

The same was true at the telescope; the presenters were patient while we all took a turn. They didn't rush us while we had to unbuckle safety straps, and two of us held our 6 year old to look at the moon and Saturn for the first time in her life! We were able to take our time and not feel rushed or in the way with the wheelchair, double stroller and equipment that we must take with us on any outing.

...it was very comforting to see the Fire department, ambulance, EMT's, and Police. The girl's liked the police motorcycles [which everyone climbed on-including parents and volunteers] and the dogs [two police service dogs: one a bomb-sniffing black lab and the other an arson-sniffing golden retriever. Both dogs love children!] who greeted us right off.

...the girls are still talking about [this evening]. We want to thank everyone who worked the extra long hours into the night to make this place extra special for us."

From Colchester Zoo:

“…you and your colleagues should be aware of the enormous amount of enjoyment and pleasure that this event gives…”

“The children and their families had such a lovely time and felt very spoilt.”

“We really appreciate all the hard work, time and effort you all put into making it such a special event for all of us.”

From Edinburgh Zoo………………….

‘Many thanks for a really fantasic evening. We recieved our tickets through Contact a Family, and everyone had a superb time. What a lovely treat, making up for all those hospital trips! The girls were dleighted with their 'party bags', which just weren't expected - the staff worked so hard and it is much appreciated. Sorry this is so late - but in the meantime, thank you just isn't strong enough. Laura Young and family’

‘I am finally getting a chance to thank you for the wonderful night all our group members had at the Dream Night. We had a wonderful time and the weather held nice for us too which was wonderful. We managed to get a few new members for our group at the same time which is always a bonus.

Thank you so much for this great opportunity again this year.

Yours Alicia McLean, Secretary/Fundraiser and Director of SKIP Special Kids in Play’

‘Can I send my warmest thanks for all the work you and your colleagues and volunteers put in to make last Friday such an enjoyable night. I have spoken with several of the parents/carers who went along and they had a great time - we also want to know who you had to bribe to get that weather! Thanks again’

‘Thank-you so very much for turning Friday night into a truly magical experience for so many families. The whole event was a real triumph and all of the zoo staff were absolutely wonderful, making everyone so welcome. The feedback I had from families was 100% positive, " A memorable evening" It was lovely to have such a brilliant time altogether".

Thanks again Nicola, both you and the whole team deserve a huge pat on the back.’

From the bouncy castle man…. ‘Just a quick note to say what a truly wonderful evening Friday night turned out to be.

The place was a total buzz and the atmosphere great-well done!

All of the staff both professional and voluntary were so helpful and showed great initiative.

A credit to all at Ed Zoo.

Once again many thanks’

Dreamnight at the Sacramento Zoo on June 2, 2006.

I am a parent of two children with autism a boy and girl, and I wanted to thank you for such a great event for both parents and kids. My kids had a great time. And of course I was crying because for the first time since we found out about the diagnosis of both kids we never really went out because other people didn't understand why the kids act out just because they look normal they should act normal. I was so happy that there were other kids with special needs and no one giving or getting crazy looks. It was tears of happiness to know that there is a community who knows exacting what we go through. Thanks for a wonderful and happy experience.

Hello

To all who organized and helped at Marwell Zoo - Dream Night last Friday 2nd June 2006. I need to say thank-you for providing our family a memoriable visit to Marwell Zoo. The weather was lovely and it was great to see that my family are not the only ones living with a beatiful special needs child, in our case we are blessed with our lovely daughter Bethannie, who is 11 years old.

I do hope this will continue next year.

God bless you all

Best regards, Peter

To all the Currumbin staff involved with Dreamnight, volunteers, fairies, giant crocodiles, bears and generous sponsors.....

Let me just say, WOW. On behalf of my husband and I, and my two little boys, Riley and Noah, thank you for such a fantastic night. Everything looked so beautiful, and it was just amazing to see all the animals at nighttime.

We received our invitation to Friday night via our association with Montrose Access as our 8 year old son, Riley, is a client. He has Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy which is currently an incurable fatal disease. We don't know how long we will be blessed to have him in our lives as we loose our boys from as early as 13, and at best he may see his 21st birthday - but by then the disease will have taken its toll on his body. Our life revolves around constant trips to the hospital for therapy treatment that will hopefully keep him walking for a lot longer, but in the next couple of years we expect this disease to have him confined permanently to a wheelchair. He is an inspiration and a joy and we are blessed that he is in our life. As for our other little man, Noah, he has to spend a lot of time waiting around while his brother has therapy, and has been robbed of a playmate to run around with - luckily they are best friends, and even though he is only 6, he understands his big brother's limitations without fuss. Noah may not have the disease, but he is living with it as well.

I just wanted to give you a small snapshot of two of the children who your generosity helped last Friday night. We know we are running out of days for our little man, and we try to make each one memorable.

Thank you all for creating a very special memory for our little family - and my goodness, we knew we would be lucky enough to get a photo, but the gift bag AND the toys from Santa were a lovely surprise - my boys just felt so spoilt.

Merry Christmas

Peter and Kathryn Sheehan

Wongawallan Qld 4210

P.S. A special thanks goes to Matt, that's Ranger Matt, sorry, Rocking Ranger Matt (my little men remind me)- who kept on entertaining his little following as the heavens opened up, even though his show had finished.

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80-211 Gdańsk, ul. Dębinki 7, phone: +48 58 349 20 27, phone/fax: +48 58 301 71 12

Mr Michał Targowski, Municipal Zoological Garden of Sea Coast, ul. Karwieńska 3, 80-328 Gdańsk-Oliwa

We were very happy to observe lively, emotional reactions of our children on the evening of Friday, 3^rd June, 2005. For the following days we listened to their reports with interest and patience. Our children-students are small patients of pediatric wards of Medical Academy in Gdańsk.

In order to take part in the “Dreamnight at the zoo” we had to receive permission of their doctors, ask them to postpone administering intravenous medicine, as well as make sure the children have save journey to the ZOO and back to the hospital. However, our efforts have been generously rewarded.

Children disconnected from drips had a chance to leave hospital for the first time in several days (sometimes weeks) and experience exceptional adventures.

They most liked close contact with animals and the ride in a „little puffer train”. Happiness, smile and satisfaction accompanied them throughout the evening. The event has appeared to be a great idea, and you carried it out with great care of our children, so heavily experienced by fate.

We warmly thank you Director for this evening. We also thank the employees of the ZOO and all who have participated in organizing and sponsoring the event.

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Mr Michał Targowski, Director ZOO Gdańsk-Oliwa, ul. Karwieńska 3, 80-328 Gdańsk

On behalf of the handicapped children and their families, we would like to thank you for the exceptional gift the children received for the Children’s Day.

Participation in the “Dreamnight at the zoo” was for our children an opportunity to experience many happy moments, which will long remain in their memories.

We send special thanks to Education Department, which was strongly involved in organizing and carrying out the event, as well as showed great understanding of our children’s problems. At the same time we would like to wish success, many achievements and satisfaction in personal and professional life to all the employees of the Zoological Garden.

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“A very BIG thank you for putting on Dreamnight – our little girl has been on chemotherapy for the past 19 months and we haven’t been able to do nice things as a family – our daughters had a wonderful time”

“Our three children all with special needs had a thoroughly enjoyable evening in the superbly relaxed atmosphere of not having to worry about the kids having a fit or knowing that other people are not staring at you – just seeing the look on the kids faces was enough of a treat in itself”

“The look on the faces from our children when they saw the giraffes at such close quarters was immeasurable – we appreciate all the hard work that goes into an event like this and cannot thank you enough”

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„Every moment of this evening was a great joy, see you on the next Dreamnight! Thanks for everything!” Edina Gombos (tv2)

„I enjoyed this wonderful evening very much. I have been to the zoo several times but never thought that it is so nice in the night!” Dr. Szabó

„Thanks for the joyful evening walk – we had a great time here!” Rozman Family

„Every staff member was very cute and nice even at 23.00!!! Thanks for everything!” Family of 4

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I would like to thank you on behalf of the children and families at Lothian Autistic Society for a fantastic Dreamnight at Edinburgh Zoo. The event was very well organised and all the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

It is good to be able to take children with an autistic spectrum disorder and their families to events such a s these as they can enjoy the experience of the zoo without having their behaviour judged by others.

Vivienne Bon, Office Development Manager, Lothian Autistic Society, 66A Newhaven Road, Edinburgh, EH6 5QB

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I have learnt that you were responsible for putting together last night’s “Dream Night at the Zoo” and I wanted you and Alison to know how wonderful it was for the families of those children touched by cancer to be a part of this experience.

My niece Endeavour died of leukemia two years ago, aged three and a half. We still think of her each and every day. It is particularly hard for my sister & her husband at this time of the year because Endeavour died on 4 April so we are approaching another anniversary.

Of course, we are not always sad! We had some wonderful (and funny) times with Endeavour and one of her favourite places of all time was the zoo – so it was particularly nice to be there again last night.

Added to this, the experience of being at the zoo at ‘twilight time’ was amazing. We have never done this before and the animals behaved quite differently than they might in the heat of the midday sun.

To all your staff who gave such interesting & informative talks, to the barbecue cooks, to the Weta people, to Hirepool, to the Fire Service, the owner of the Harley, to the suppliers of the glow lamps, to who ever put the gift bags together, to the fire poi man, to Ray’s Roadshow and to anyone else whose name I may not know … THANK YOU.

The Child Cancer Foundation does fantastic work and were amazingly supportive when Endeavour was ill. They are still with us now that she has gone. It is really good for our son Daniel, Endeavour’s cousin, to know that she is still a part of us. He is pictured above, doing his impression of a ‘rampaging red panda’ in Eastbourne late last night! He also loves the zoo and we ‘adopted’ a tiger last year!

‘What a wonderful evening and a wonderful time we had. It was fantastic organisation and a very easy and pleasant evening. Please pass on how well I thought it was put together and they gave us such a lovely welcome. The gifts at the end were amazing. Thank you also for a great night out, this is the first night out as a family in a such a relaxing atmosphere and it was appreciated by us all.’

This is the first of many!! Here is a note that came through this morning. We have had phone calls today and there were messages on the phone when I arrived at work! This is not a usual occurrence for the families to ring in!

Thank you for a fantastic night and the parcels were beyond believable!! For great organisation, helpful and informative staff and volunteers, great animals that roamed around saying hi and waving to us, for the ice creams and the amazing face painters, for the motor bikes that some older young people really enjoyed, for the fire poi’s, and the BBQ was most appreciated – people really enjoyed the relaxed time wandering around and catching up with others, and Rays Roadshow was a great way to end the evening. The glow sticks were great and Alison did an amazing job in directing us you could see the lights at quite a distance. Thanks for the Fire Brigade we have some ‘buddying’ Fire people now!!

Thank you seems so small a word to show appreciation for all you have done however it is very heartfelt.

Please convey our family's appreciation to the Wellington Zoo, its staff and volunteers for the excellent evening they put on for Child Cancer families yesterday. Having the other activities - poi, machinery, fire engines and face painting - added spice to the event. Rayz Roadshow was outstanding - rarely have I been to a show which has had appeal to all age groups, from the very little ones to teenagers (often difficult to please) to adults. The food and drink were great, and spreading it out meant better crowd control, and we could just get one thing and walk around and finish it before eating something else (instead of having to pick up everything at the same place, and having to stop and eat it all). And last by not least the 'party bag' was extremely generous and contained items that both young children and teenagers were happy to receive.

My suggestions for improvement are minor, and their omission by no means marred an enjoyable evening:

2. Indicate (probably on the map) that the chill out room had hot drinks available.

Thank you too for the efforts of CCF and Canteen staff. Every such thing helps our children view cancer as a positive, though traumatic, experience.

This is just a very quick message to thank you and your staff so very much for the fantastic night that you put on for all of us through the Child Cancer Foundation.

It really was unbelievable. Our whole family has a wonderful time. And it wasn't just because it was so well organised - but because it felt so great. It was the atmosphere that was best of all - all of the personal touches and the amazing generosity of your staff to share their time and personal interests with us that "made" it. My 2 boys just loved the scissor-lift, feeding the giraffe and the fire poi. And a particular thanks to the man with the motorbikes who explained how the engine works in a way that a 3 yr old could understand! We still talk about it lots in our household.

I am sorry it has taken me so long to get this to you. Hugh started school last week - which we turned into quite a celebration (wonderful, but busy).

It was great to do something together as a family. We really enjoyed the guides telling us about the animals it was so much more informative.

Thanks for a wonderful night out. So positive for all of us, it was great to do things as a family. Great to catch up with friends. The idea of a BBQ was great the kids loved it.

The firemen were great – we have a budding fireman now! Thanks to everyone who put this on it was a fantastic night out.

The Family of Endeavour Alexander Durkin thank you. (Endeavour died 2 year this April) the Zoo was one her favourite places.

“Please thank everybody concerned for a wonderful night at the Zoo. Especially the Zoo staff and all those sponsors who combined to produce a really amazing night for the families involved with the Child Cancer Foundation…..we are in awe of all of those who made it possible.

What a great night. Both the boys really enjoyed it. Max loved the being a fireman. It was good to wander around and see things. It was great to come out together as a family.

Our daughter had got binoculars for Christmas and these became very useful for her! She enjoyed wandering round and we enjoyed watching her enjoy it all. She was very taken with the cheetah cubs and the talk that the guide gave. Her siblings really enjoyed it also. They enjoyed the food and the way that it was spread out so you could leisurely eat. It was also good to meet some other families as well as catch up. It would have been good to have times that things were going to be on as I worried about missing some things.

The face painting was amazing and we enjoyed Rays Road-show. It is so good to see our family being together, out of the hospital and laughing. It was great medicine – thankyou.

What a great event. Alex really liked the cheetahs, the motorbikes and enjoyed racing around. He loved the BBQ food and so did Grace. Thank you to everyone who contributed to make this a relaxing and enjoyable night out for us

It was good to be able to see the animals at dusk they seemed to be more active than sometimes during the day. It was relaxing to wonder around and to listen to people talk about the animals. I found this informative. Thanks for tea, drinks and entertainment. We appreciated all the time you put into making this happen for us all. Thankyou.

Wow what a night. It has been great. Thank you to the Zoo people they have been so generous to us all and the boys have loved it. I was staggered at the lovely parcel that they gave the boys it was very generous.

Thanks for the great night out. Jack has loved it and it is so good to come and do something together. This has been a great night out and thanks for the lovely gifts. The posters are on the wall of Jack’s room! Everything was just great.

Thank you for having us for the evening. Crystal enjoyed the evening very much. It is years since we have been to the zoo as I don’t drive so some family brought us. Thank you for providing tea. Crystal enjoyed stroking Jake.

Thanks for this night out. Dan loved it and racing around. It was great to see others and to see the Zoo. I loved watching the bears playing. The face painters were fantastic and I had trouble getting him to wash his face he was so excited and loved it so much! Thanks for the great way you did tea, and the ice-creams were – well we thought maybe an ice-block so it was a very nice surprise and they were so yummy! Really enjoyed the entertainment that finished the evening off really well – although it was late for us as we came from the Wairarapa but it was well worth it! Thank so much to everyone at the Zoo for all your hard work.

Thank you for organising such a great event at the zoo - It was amazing that so many people helped and made a huge effort for us. Uma was not in great form as having a reaction to mosquito bites from that afternoon before the zoo which we discovered later. However her leopard is treasured and goes with her to bed and kindy and her friends' houses. She has also talked about the trip to the zoo lots so despite her grumpiness at the event, it did make an impact.

We did really appreciate you inviting us and its the first event we have been to. Its always interesting to see what is going on at the zoo. We saw much more activity than during a daytime session and the leopard cubs were the highlight.

“I am writing to say a big THANK YOU to you all. It was a magical evening. Charlotte enjoyed every minute of the evening. She says the best bit was playing ‘finding nemo’ in the aquarium. She slept in ‘til ten on Saturday which is a rare occurrence, she is normally a 6 o’clocker” The Wharton family.

“Hello Folks! Had a great time on Friday, congratulations on a very successful evening. Every one had a great time, count me in next year!” Angela Powell, Accounts

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all at Chester Zoo for the wonderful evening you hosted last Friday. The two tour guides in our group were excellent and took us wherever anyone wanted to go. The whole evening was fantastic and we can see so many people who had put their own time and energy into making the evening work, I think it was great that families could probably see more and do more on an evening like this than if they had gone on a normal busy day with other members of the public.” Love Adam, Jessica, Tracy, Gary & Mum, The Mazan family

“Just wanted to say a BIG thank you to you all for organising the Dreamnight evening on Friday, I thought it was a great success and everyone including the staff seemed to be having a great time!” Kristine Beaumount, Marketing

“I would like to say an especially BIG thank you to our guides for the night. Nothing was too much trouble for either of them and they both made us feel welcome and relaxed and were really good with the children. You thought of everything and it was great to have the zoo to ourselves, no hustling and bustling through hundreds of people with a wheelchair. Nobody staring at your ‘different’ child, because everyone was in similar circumstances.” The Randles family

“None of this would have been possible without the good will of the staff - what a team effort. Everybody pulled together to make this a memorable evening not just for the families but also for staff – many wondered if they could cope – they did – it was a wonderful sight seeing a swath of green on its way to the main entrance to meet and greet their families – we even had a few extra tigers for the night!” Christine Capner, Staff Association

“Katie enjoyed everything. She was thrilled to see so many animals so close up. I can’t thank everyone enough for such a wonderful night. It was a very special night just like our daughter Katie is very special.” The Gerrard family

The children were very excited about holding snakes, scorpions, tarantulas and all the exciting animals and reptiles which were present. The handlers from Ray's Reptiles and Jungle Cat World were fantastic, very informative and amusing as they tried to "out do" each other! The Super Dogs were fun for the kids to watch and the Ken Jen Petting Zoo is always a great experience for everyone as we all love to pet and interact with the animals. I would also like to congratulate the kids/adults who gave a superb martial arts demonstration. Thanks again Delena for all the work you dedicated to this project. This event really helped to brighten the lives of these courageous children."-Cathy Diamond, Starlight Foundation

"It was not so much as to what was there, but to see the children and their families, from all walks of life with a common interest, to be able to be open up and enjoy the truly unique experience. To see a little girl be given the opportunity to be able to feel and experience texture of an Alligator, the handlers communicating all their knowledge to that child, almost made my heart explode out of my chest. Thank you for letting me be part of that special event."-Selwyn Postan, Northern Karate School, Volunteer

Both my boys enjoyed the event, especially getting to be so close to the animals. My wife and I enjoyed the fact that we were able to visit the different stations freely after the presentation, which allowed us to go at our pace and to better meet the needs of our little guys. The staff of Jungle Cat World were great and made good connections with the visitors. I was impressed."-Freddie, father.

Annette Bair from Mercy Hospital said, "(T)he event was such a great success...It is a wonderful opportunity for these special children to experience the joy of visiting the zoo. Thanks for your commitment to making the event such a meaningful one for the children. Mercy was honored to be a part of making it happen."

"Congratulation for such a noble initiation worthy of the zoos' reputation." - Dr. Mihály Kökény, Minister of Health

"We would like to thank all the zoo-staff for this wonderful experience!" - family of 4

"It was a really exciting evening, especially the seelion-show. Thank you!" - Keglevich family (4)

"Thank you for this extraordinary adventure! It was a big fun for us, adults as well, but was much bigger for our children!" - family of 3

"Great that Hungary has joined this program, it was a really interesting, substantial evening!" – family of 3

"It was gorgeous to be here, children and parents had fun together - there was no such an evening yet!" - Garaba family (4)

"This way I would like to thank you the Dreamnight at the Zoo program and the wonderful evening. Both the children and their parents had a very good time, all the programs were extremely welldone. Thank Mrs. Ilma Bogsch and all workers in the zoo, and I wish you could continue your work with as much enthusiasm, devotion and success as I saw this evening!" - Dr. György Harmat, Head of Madarász Children's Hospital

It was a great pleasure for us in Budapest to organize our first Dreamnight, hopefully next year you will have more than two partners from Hungary! All of my colleagues had enjoyed that evening and would like to be here next time as well - and even more of them have great ideas what to do for giving more fun for our guests.

"I just want to reiterate just how grateful the families were for this opportunity. It was so wonderful, and so many of the families just wouldn't be able to go to the Aquarium with the crowds often being what they are. Thank you and all your staff for this exciting evening! (Diane Hart, BC Children's Hospital)

" So many of the families thanked me and were grateful for the opportunity to come to Dream Night. The thing that struck me the most was that for many of them, they wouldn't attempt to take their child all their equipment, their wheelchairs, their suction, their ventilators etc. on a regular day to the Aquarium and be overwhelmed by trying to care for their children in the normally crowded environment . Sarah who is about 11 yrs. told her mom that what she really liked was having the opportunity to see all the displays and have her questions answered by the helpful volunteers. The evening had such a good feel to it, very special. " (Joanne, Sunny Hill Health Centre)

"Dreamnight was such a great idea, awesome and so much fun for the kids. They are still talking about it. Such a change from the hospital. And the goody bags were a real surprise!" (Mother of 2 year old patient.)

"One parent said this was the first time in three months that her and her family had been together on an outing. The night was magical." (Catia, BC Children's Hospital).

Thanks to you, Dreamnight Foundation for encouraging zoos and aquariums like ours to bring the amazing world of animals and Nature to families who might otherwise not be able to enjoy this opportunity. We look forward to hosting Dreamnight again in 2004.

Kind regards,

Lynne DeCew
VP, Marketing
Vancouver Aquarium

Subject: Yesterday
Posted: Friday June 20, 2003 [11:09:31 PST]
By: meighan

Last night at the Aquarium we held Dreamnight, a special evening where children with life threatening illnesses could join their families to meet an array of aquatic creatures up close. Kids came from BC Children's Hospital, Sunny Hill Health Centre and Canuck Place. I stayed and volunteered for the evening with a bunch of my coworkers. It was really amazing seeing these kids get so excited, and to see the community pull together to donate stuff for the evening. I work with a lot of really good people, it makes all the difference. :)