Supporting children and foster families – can you help?
Shropshire is very fortunate to be home to Shropshire Foster Carers Association (SFCA), a group working to welcome and support children, birth families and foster carers into the foster care system in the county.
Supporting children and foster families – can you help?
SFCA acts as a crucial support network for foster carers in Shropshire, by ensuring they feel valued, supported, and equipped to provide the best possible care for children in their homes. Without the support available entering the foster care system could be a challenging process to navigate alone.
The work of SFCA includes:
- A membership network.
- Partnership and representation working with Shropshire Council to ensure foster carers are heard and can also influence regional and national policy making.
- Communication via regular updates and information sharing.
- Support for Foster Carers and advice, including training and development and out-of-hours support.
- A programme of activities, social events and opportunities to connect with other children, foster carers and birth families.
The SFCA is now seeking help from local residents. Building Bonds Through Shared Journeys is a new SFCA project now open on Crowdfund Shropshire.
Over £10,000 has been raised, but to allow the project to be delivered in full more donations are needed. The project will include a range of events, trips, activities and sessions deigned to help children cope with early trauma, build resilience and access peer support.
Can you help? Donations can start at as little as £2 and every single donation will help.
Find more and donate here: Building Bonds Through Shared Journeys
Cllr Ruth Houghton, portfolio holder for social care commented:
“Foster families are needed to provide a stable, nurturing, and safe temporary home for children who cannot live with their birth families for many, often difficult, circumstances. This allows for the need of children to be met in a safe and supportive environment. However, it is also important to meet other children in the same circumstances and for foster carers themselves to access peer support and advice. If you are in a position to help, please consider a donation, however small.”
Cllr Alex Wagner, deputy leader and portfolio holder for communities, added:
“Building Bonds Through Shared Journeys is another fantastic community-led project developed on Crowdfund Shropshire. We are so grateful to Shropshire Foster Carers Association for their work, and also to all the other community groups and organisations now delivering projects in their local areas after crowdfunding and donations from Shropshire Council”.
Shropshire Council has used funds from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which proactively supports delivery of the UK-government’s five national missions: pushing power out to communities everywhere, with a specific focus to help kickstart economic growth and promoting opportunities in all parts of the UK.
Crowdfund Shropshire is a civic crowdfunding platform delivered by Shropshire Council in partnership with crowdfunding specialists, Spacehive. Other partners include Shropshire VCS Assembly, Community Resource and the Voluntary and Community Support Team, Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Energize.
Additional information
For more information, about UKSPF visit:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
