Fota Wildlife Park 'humbled and delighted' by public generosity in tough times

A kind Cork heart orchestrated a €10,000 donation to Fota Wildlife Park after setting up a fundraiser for the 100-acre outdoor attraction which was in financial difficulty after many months of closed doors due to the ongoing Covid pandemic.

Chelsea Sheehan, who is a quality control analyst with Janssen Sciences in Ringaskiddy, set up the fundraiser in March and over the past month has managed to raise €10,000 for the wildlife park.

Fota Wildlife Park took to social media to thank Chelsea posting on their Facebook page to say thank you.

“A big thank you to Chelsea Sheehan who presented our director Sean McKeown, with a cheque for €10,000, the funds she raised during a GoFundMe campaign she set up to aid the conservation charity during lockdown."

The Fota Wildlife Park management and staff said they were ‘delighted and humbled’ with the public support received during closure which included thousands of euro in donations through their website, hundreds of annual passes and gift cards sold and private fundraising initiatives set-up.

“We're thrilled that as part of the easing of level five Covid-19 restrictions, the 100-acre outdoor attraction is due to re-open Monday 26th April with safety measures in place for all visitors including pre-booking a date and arrival time-slot through our website www.fotawildlife.ie.”