Participants from Burleigh and Mudgeeraba went on a weekend road trip to Australia Zoo, complete with an overnight stay.
Club Aruma is our fresh approach to getting out and about in the community for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants. It’s now operating in Burleigh, and the club is all about real friendships, real fun, and real adventures.
Their most recent event was one for the memory book. Participants from Burleigh and Mudgeeraba went on a weekend road trip to Australia Zoo, complete with an overnight stay.
“Most of our participants have never had an opportunity to stay away from home in a supported environment like this. It felt amazing to give them this experience of independence that many of us take for granted,” said the organiser of the day and Aruma’s Service Lead of Community, Leanne Peters.
To make the most of their time, all 13 participants and five staff were up early to start the drive to Australia Zoo and their accommodation at Maleny. The drive was filled with lots of excitement for the day (and stretch breaks) before they arrived at the home of the Crocodile Hunter.
“This day had been 12 weeks in the making, so our participants were over the moon to finally be at Australia Zoo. The African animals and the birds were a big hit. Obviously, the trip wouldn’t have been complete without seeing the croc show and it was actually run by Robert Irwin,” continued Leanne.
Service Lead of Community, Mitchell De Bruyn added, “This event was a great opportunity for our participants to learn life skills around independence and decision making. Being in a new environment created lots of learning opportunities.”
The feedback from the day included, “We loved it,” “Best day ever,” and “When can we come back?” The team are already planning where their next overnight adventure will be.
There’s always room for more at Club Aruma. If you or your loved one wants to perform, discover a new hobby, make new friends, or explore their community, then Club Aruma is the perfect fit! To learn more, contact Aruma on 1300 538 746.
A version of this story appeared in the December edition of the Burleigh Wave.
Read more Aruma News
This dialog plays embedded videos in a popup window.
This dialog displays a site search in a popup window.
This dialog displays a contact form a popup window.
This dialog displays a list of languages available for translation in a popup window.