A “Pawsitively” Wonderful Day: Guide Dogs NI Joins High Rise family adventure centre for a tail-wagging family fun day!

High Rise family adventure centre in Lisburn recently opened its doors for a very special event – Guide Dogs NI family fun day. This heart-warming occasion brought together families, and four-legged companions to enjoy all of the exciting activities High Rise has to offer.

Guests attending the family fun day got to explore High Rise facilities including the thrilling Clip ‘n Climb indoor climbing challenges, fun-filled soft play and the two interactive sensory rooms. There was also face painting, glitter tattoos and craft workshops on offer as well as a number of sensory story-telling sessions.

A highlight of the day was a visit from a number of Guide Dogs and Buddy Dogs, who were a major attraction with the guests (and the staff!).

The centre was transformed to include a Services Marketplace which included information stands from a wide range of charities and support organisations including RNIB, Angel Eyes NI, SenseNI and Employers For Childcare in addition to showcasing some of the support Guide Dogs NI can provide to children with a visual impairment, and their families.

High Rise: A centre for everyone

Ahead of the event, the Guide Dogs NI team visited High Rise to deliver a specialised training session for the High Rise team. The training session was designed to educate our staff members about interacting with individuals with visual impairments, understanding their needs and offering assistance in a respectful and effective manner.

Feedback from guests who attended the family fun day was outstanding, with guests sharing the following positive comments with the Guide Dogs NI team after the event:

“Nice to have the additional activities today so all members of the family could experience some activity. Well thought through in terms of level of disability, particularly in adaption to V.I. Super venue.”

“Fabulous day, venue and staff were amazing. They really engaged with our child. Excellent organisation, no wait for the leads to join the activities. This was a really positive and fun day for our child. Thank you”.

“Staff made the event! The staff were all so friendly and helpful and made a huge effort to make us all feel welcome and my children feel so special. Thank you so much!”

Speaking following the event, Catherine Power, Family Events Officer at Guide Dogs had this to say:

”We were absolutely delighted to host a Guide Dogs Family Event at High Rise Adventure Centre. The High Rise team were so accommodating to our needs, and made our families feel so special! It was so impressive that they were willing to upskill the team and invite us in before the day to provide some advice and guidance on how to best support individuals with a vision impairment. It meant the best possible experience could be provided to families on the day. Having climbing, sensory rooms and soft play available, meant we could invite children of all needs and abilities to the event. Thanks High Rise from all the team at Guide Dogs”.

Check out highlights from the fun-filled day at High Rise!

Inclusivity and connection

The family fun day at the High Rise family adventure centre, in collaboration with Guide Dogs NI, emphasized the importance of inclusivity and connection. It highlighted that adventure, joy, and shared experiences are not limited by ability or circumstance.

On behalf of High Rise, Employers for Childcare’s Chief Executive, Marie Marin said: “Our mission in developing High Rise was to create a centre which would be inclusive and accessible for everyone – somewhere that families can go to enjoy leisure time together, whatever their needs. We were delighted to welcome Guide Dogs NI to High Rise for their family fun day, which highlights the very ethos that High Rise is based upon. We look forward to welcoming more guests and their guide dogs to High Rise and hope we’ll see lots of the families who attended this event becoming regular guests.”

If you are interested in exclusive hire of High Rise for your corporate event, family fun day or company away day email us at contact@highriseni.org or visit https://highriseni.org/groups/ to find out more about our corporate packages.