Northern Ireland golf hero Rory McIlroy, made his first visit to the new Mencap Centre today in Belfast, following his donation of £500,000 from the Rory Foundation to support the build of the facility.
Officially opened in March 2016, the purpose-built Mencap Centre, which now serves as a model for Mencap’s early intervention services across the UK and Ireland, was partially funded by the Big Step Forward
Appeal
To appeal means saying you want someone to think about a decision again.
, Mencap NI’s most ambitious fundraising
campaign
A campaign is when people work together to try to change something.
in history.
At the heart of the Mencap Centre is the Mencap Children’s Centre, a nursery for 2-4-year-olds with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
,
autism
Autism is a disability. Autistic people find it difficult to understand what other people think and feel. They also find it difficult to tell people what they think and feel. Everyone with autism is different.
or developmental delay.
During his visit, Rory took part in a tour of the nursery and a meet-and-greet with Mencap families. Following the tour, Margaret Kelly, Director, Mencap Northern Ireland, said:
“It was so exciting to show Rory around the Mencap Centre today and I know all of the children and families in attendance loved meeting him. The £500,000 donation from the Rory Foundation was a huge part of our success with the Big Step Forward Appeal and was vital in reaching our goal of £1.7million.
“Now that the Mencap Centre is up and running, it is already changing the lives of the children with a learning disability who attend our nursery and it also serves as a resource and a gathering place for young people and adults with a learning disability and their families. The Rory Foundation had a big hand in making this important centre a reality and we can’t thank Rory and his team enough for their generosity.”
For more information on the Rory Foundation, visit roryfoundation.com.
Rory McIlroy Visits Mencap Centre in Belfast
Rory made his first visit to the new Centre in Belfast, following his donation of £500,000 from the Rory Foundation to support the build of the facility.