Foster carers celebrated for their dedication to helping children
Monday, 23 September 2019
Our Celebration of Fostering event saw carers and their families praised for their dedication to helping give a stable and loving home to children in Bedfordshire.
Grace Steele, with her award
Woburn Safari Park was the setting as carers, with a combined 80 years of fostering between them, were presented with awards to mark long service.
There were more than 40 nominations received in total from fellow foster carers, young people in their care and our staff.
Eight families accepted awards, including five-year-old Grace Steele, who was awarded the Special Sons and Daughters award. Part of her glowing nomination said Grace is ‘an amazing foster sibling, she makes her home a positive place to be with her warmth and her chatty, fun nature.’
Also among the winners were Beatrice and Francis Archibong-Odiong, who were awarded for their dedication to caring for children with more complex needs.
They were nominated by three people, including a young person they previously cared for, who said: ‘They helped me see things differently and see life in a different perspective. They’ve dealt with challenges with me, but they’ve never given up on me.
'They’ve helped me see life in a different light and, if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be sitting my GCSEs. Their love and care for each other makes them excellent, they bring it out by the way they show love to other people.”
Our Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, Councillor Sue Clark, said:
Congratulations to everyone who was nominated. It was a pleasure and an honour for me to meet some of our foster carers and their families.
Our foster carers are very special people and we can't thank them enough for the fantastic job they do. The Celebration of Fostering event is a small way of showing just how much we appreciate each and every one of them.We are always keen to hear from anyone interested in becoming a foster carer and would welcome individuals or families getting in touch to find out more. You can go online, give our Fostering team a call on 0300 300 8181 or email fostering@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.