MIAMI (WSVN) - Some special guests got a Thanksgiving treat at a South Florida attraction, and it was all part of a good cause.
It was a fun morning at Jungle Island, Wednesday.
Some families got to see some of the rarest animals and tour the colorful lantern as part of Luminosa Festival of Lights.
The families all call the Lotus House home.
It’s an organization dedicated to improving the lives of those in need.
“Today is the day we invited them to come out, enjoy Jungle island, enjoy the animals, enjoy the park, enjoy the beautiful weather that we had especially delivered for these guys,” said Vice president of Zoological Operations, Jason Chatfield, “to have at least one day of a stress free environment.”
“Just to have a wonderful afternoon like any other child could experience on a field trip from school,” said Beatrice Gonzalez, Community Outreach representative for Lotus House. “We do our best to really expose them to everything Miami has to offer and what better venue than Jungle Island?”
In early November, Lotus House with the help of Jungle Island, launched a food drive.
Lotus House serves 350,000 meals every year.
“A lot of mouths to feed,” said Gonzalez. “From this initiative alone, we have brought in about 6,000 to 7,000 pounds of food just in this initiative that launched in the beginning of November. So life changing for us, truly.”
Ahead of Thanksgiving, everything that was collected will head to the Lotus House.
“We’re super excited and very thankful for Jungle Island’s support,” said Gonzalez.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.