Our local community are our visitors, our team and our friends. We need to be a responsible and sustainable business for them to ensure we’re around for generations to come.
Our owners are locals – born and bred – and they employ local people. Our most loyal visitors are those in our local community. Our community are our biggest supporters so we give back to them.
Our journey began with a simple idea: to create something that serves not only its customers but also its locality. We believe that our success is intertwined with the well-being of the people around us. This belief has guided us since we first opened our doors in 1988 and continues to be our driving force today. You see, there’s been a family-run business on the site of Folly Farm for three generations; first a dairy farm and now an award-winning attraction and holiday park. We are proud to say that our commitment goes far beyond just providing excellent place to visit and stay. We’re involved in various charitable activities through our community engagement scheme, consistently raising significant funds to support local charities. These funds are a testament to our dedication to giving back to those that have given so much to us.
Since 2002 we have raised in excess of £390,000 through charitable events in our Follies Theatre. The ever popular ‘That’ll be the day’ rock n’ roll show has raised a staggering £55,000 alone since 2018 and over £200,000 in total, since its first performance at Folly Farm some 18 years ago.
Popular acts such as Aled Jones, Paul Potts, Bucks Fizz, Richard and Adam, Russell Grant and Beverley Knight have all graced the Follies Theatre stage over the years providing local organisations with the opportunity to raise considerable funds for their chosen charities.
In addition to this we also host the Rotary Club Kids’ Day Out event every year in June, where local Rotarians bring hundreds of children for a celebratory day out at Folly Farm. It’s a wonderful day enjoyed by local children, Rotarians and indeed our staff!
By donating our theatre and lighting, and our staff, free of charge we ensure that 100% of the profit from ticket sales goes towards local and national charities. We also allow local sports clubs and councils to host their awards and presentation evenings in our theatre, sometimes they’ll even have exclusive use of our fairground rides! These are all opportunities for us to come together, to strengthen our bonds, and to contribute to a cause greater than ourselves by supporting local initiatives and charities.
It’s fair to say that we are grateful for the unwavering support we have received over the years. It is this support that fuels our passion and drives us to do more. We are dedicated to continuing our community engagement programme and to nurturing the bonds we have built.
Each year we donate thousands of tickets to charities, schools, youth organisations, local businesses and many others for fundraisers, raffles and giveaways. In addition to this; thousands of pounds have been donated to local sporting clubs by means of ongoing sponsorship deals. This money has purchased everything from pitch marker cones used in training to football kit sponsorship. Local community events have also benefitted from contributions towards their running costs.
For many years we have been a proud sponsor of the hugely successful Saundersfoot New Years Day Swim and more recently have supported the SaundersFEST three-day festival event held in July each year and were the primary sponsor of the Kilgetty AFC centenary celebrations held throughout 2024.
Sometimes, we like to help by getting hands-on in our local community such as playground builds, bulb planting initiatives and even beach cleans!
Our dedicated Green Team get together to help our much-loved Pembrokeshire coast. Most recently our staff headed to beautiful Tenby South Beach, for an evening of beach cleaning. In just two short hours, four large bags full of waste products and rubbish were collected. This is now displayed at our Penguin Coast habitat, forming a visual representation of the problems penguins and other marine animals face in the wild.
So, thank you for being a part of our journey. Here’s to many more years of serving, supporting, and growing together. Because at the end of the day, community is us, community is you, and community is at the heart of everything we do.
We’re passionate about preventing extinction so take part in breeding and education programmes and raise money to protect animals in the wild.
Our people, animals and environment are an integral part of Folly Farm. That’s why we put sustainability at the heart of what we do.