Keep the Dunedin Community Learning Centre for adults with special needs open

The Dunedin Community Learning Centre caters for adults with intellectual disability and special needs.

However for the last 3 years the learning centre has no longer received government funding as we have been told the money is being used for other things. The Community Learning Centre will have to close its doors if funding cannot be found.

Closing the centre means 20 vulnerable people will be left without a place to go during the day. For a lot of these students their time at the learning centre is their major form of social interaction outside of their homes and provides them with skills that foster their wellbeing, happiness, independence, contribution and acceptance into society.

Each day, this class of up to 20 people of varying ages has a structured programme, important since these particular students need structure and routine to make them feel secure. News every morning consists of speaking, listening and asking questions, all important social skills, and reading, arithmetic, cooking and craft fill the remainder of the days.

The Learning Centre provides students with life skills such as:

• Art & Crafts

• Cooking

• Money Skills

• Social skills such as Peer friendship, welcoming visitors

• Reading

• Gardening

Community Based Learning skills via:

• Shopping

• Safe street crossing

• Swimming

• Helping others via volunteering, work experience and community outings such as making heart-shaped pillows for cancer patients and baking for the Cancer Society

It costs $120k per year to keep the Dunedin Community Learning Centre open – which is peanuts in the grand scheme of things, but a lot of money if you don't have it. It's such a small amount of money that can help so many people.

If the centre can survive until next March (at a cost of $60k), it can apply to the Lotteries Commission for a grant.

Please donate so that these 20 vulnerable members of our community can continue to enjoy their days at the learning centre. These students cannot be left at home alone – so what are their options isolated at home? Where will they find the acceptance they need beyond the perimeters of their homes? Will they ever again experience being part of a team, sharing the excitement of a completed project? What will make them feel worthwhile?