Young people in foster care wanting to help people in their community
Our fostering support teams have been impressed by our young people’s desire to help others who they consider to be less fortunate than themselves. This shows how much empathy and emotional maturity they have developed in fostering care.
It is not uncommon for foster children to aspire to become foster carers or social workers when they leave care. That is a tribute to our inspirational carers and support workers who set an excellent example of how to help others.
Here is a selection of amazing stories:
Young Peoples Groups
In the South West, Five Rivers runs thriving Young Peoples Groups (YPGs) that meet together to discuss and plan group activities. They have come up with some fantastic projects:
One YPG wrote a letter to the fostering managers asking for an opportunity to have a first aid training session. They were so keen they even designed their own publicity poster. The training day qualified all attendees as Young First Aiders more able to deal with accidents and emergencies.
Another YPG came up with the idea to hold a ‘Bake Off’ in aid of The Pied Piper Appeal – a local charity that supports sick and disabled children living in Gloucestershire. There were some stunning entries and the group managed to raise £82.
Safeguarding from bullying
One of our young people in fostering in the West Country, Holly, has recently been elected along with some of her peers to be a Stay Safe Mentor following an anti-bullying workshop at her school. Holly will be attending further training to enable her to identify young people that may need help.
Helping children in need
Last Christmas, Young Fundraisers in the West Country raised £800 to help children spending Christmas in hospital. The money was spent on a massive gift-shopping spree in Truro and on Christmas Eve they delivered the gifts to the Hospital with the help of Santa.
Speaking up for the homeless child
Since the age of 11, our Young Advocate, Emily has been an active member of the Children’s Alliance, campaigning for better human rights and protection for the children of homeless families in England. She has travelled from her foster home in the West Country to attend events in London and Geneva and is proud to have taken part in reporting and the steering committee.
Care with a purpose
The Five Rivers Child Care family is a social enterprise so we don’t pay profits to shareholders. Our trading surplus is invested in projects which improve the life chances of children and enable them to participate in their communities, develop their skills and talents and become effective, caring and productive adults.
NB: All names have been changed to protect the identities of children in care.