Parents’ Voice event brings children and seniors together

Dozens of excited children and seniors filled the Dale Thompson room at the CHSLD du Pontiac (CAP) long-term care home on Saturday to get a hands-on experience with animals courtesy of Meet the Keepers Wildlife Rescue, an organization that focuses on animal rescue and educating the public about wildlife conservation and responsible pet ownership.

The event was organized by The Parents’ Voice, in collaboration with the staff at the CAP. The Parents’ Voice is a group of volunteer moms that meet once a month and provide support and activities for families in the area.Parents’ Voice committee member Shelley Heaphy said the reason they decided to hold the event at the CAP was because they wanted something that would be intergenerational.

“We thought it would be nice to be able to bring the community together. The partnership came up with the CAP and we were really excited to join with them and bring something here,” Heaphy said.

Fellow committee member Meagan Derouin said spots for the event filled up quickly, so quick, in fact, that they decided to hold a second session on the same day.

“Between parents and kids , there were 60 people registered for both sessions,” Derouin said.

Each of the two sessions ran about an hour, with Kyle Lawrie of The Keepers introducing seven different animals: a tarantula, an African grey parrot, a red-footed tortoise, a Flemish giant rabbit, a tegu, a coati and a boa constrictor.

Lawrie spoke about each animal’s characteristics and asked children questions before proceeding to take each around the room, allowing the residents of the CAP to see them up close, with some brave residents even deciding to touch them. Towards the end of the session Lawrie brought each animal back out for the children to have their turn.

Both Heaphy and Derouin were pleased that not only was the event a hit with the children but that residents were engaged as well, and they hope to hold many more events there in the future.“There’s a gentleman I was speaking with who said how it was so nice to see the kids,” Derouin said. “In some cases they can’t go out to attend events, so it was nice to have one here.”