a global project for chronically ill and disabled children….
Dreamnight at the Zoo Foundation - The Netherlands
Rotterdam Zoo initiated an annual evening ‘out at the zoo’ on the first friday of June, from 18:00 ‘till 22:00 hours, for children from the Sophia Children’s Hospital in 1996.
This first edition of the “Dreamnight at the Zoo” was especially for children with cancer. Onehundredseventyfive children were invited and brought their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.
Now 201 partners in 36 countries join this event. In Europe: the Netherlands, Belgium, France, England, Ireland, Germany, Greece, Danemark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Luxemburg, Austria, Croatia and Italy, in America: Canada, the United States of America, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador, in Australia : Australië and New Zealand, in Africa: South-Africa, in Asia: Japan, Taiwan, India, Bangladesh, the Philippins and China and in the Middle East: Israel.
Each zoo organizes the event in its own way, but in all the zoos the children are welcomed and treated as V.I.P.’s. They get a warm reception with music, clowns or other fantasy figures. The children are allowed to open doors, ask the keepers questions, to come into as close of contact with the animals as possible and get a more intimate view of the zoo than the everage zoo visitor.
Over 75.000 families visited the “Dreamnight at the Zoo” in 2008 (this means some 300.000 visitors) !!!!
www.dreamnightatthezoo.nl
Because
arranging this special event is such a rewarding experience, organizers
in the joining zoos are very pleased to share experiences gained in the
last years to encourage every zoo in the world to join us and also organize
such an evening for chronically ill and disabled children. It really is
a project that is well worth the effort
It is our dream that all Zoos in the world will once call the first Friday of June the “dreamnight at the zoo”….. we can help you organize, you can contact us at anytime…!! Please visit our website…….(in five languages)