2010 Teresa Way Award for Perth Zoo
At its meeting in August this year, the Board resolved to present the 2010 Teresa Way Award to The Perth Zoo. The presentation was made at the Senses Foundation Annual General Meeting on 13th October 2010.
Over the last number of years, Senses Foundation has organised a number of events at the Perth Zoo. These have primarily related to family fun days for children who are deafblind and their families and sibling activities. The Zoo was also used on two occasions in order that families could meet visiting experts in deafblindness, in an environment which would entertain the children while the parents spoke to the expert.
The organisation and running of these events takes considerable planning and organisation on the part of Senses Foundation staff – but also requires considerable planning, organisation and cooperation from the Zoo staff.
On each occasion that Senses Foundation has visited, the Zoo staff have offered considerable flexibility in accommodating the needs of the children who are deafblind and their families and have contributed considerably to the success of the events. Just two examples of this include the additional seminar rooms which were made available at no cost for children to play in; and the deadlines for catering being extremely flexible to accommodate the fluctuating health of the children.
From snake handler to caterers – the Zoo staff have been magnificent and definitely meet the Teresa Way Selection Criteria of making a contribution to people who are deafblind.
