As we come into Fostering Fortnight once again, we learn that 9,070 new foster families are needed over the next year alone, in order to meet the needs for the thousands of children who are both vulnerable and at risk of being abused or neglected.
Caring families, couples or individuals who feel that they have the capacity to give time to one or more of these children are urgently needed.
If you are able to offer the time and dedication to care for a young person, then you may be on the brink of an amazing new life challenge and rewarding career.
Being a foster carer does indeed work both ways, and this was verified when we spoke to Debbie and Mike Reynolds who have adopted one child and fostered several over the years. ‘We are commended by so many people for the life changing work we have carried out with our foster children, but the rewards for us totally outweigh the work we have done and it is an incredible experience to make a difference to a child’s life and turn it around.’ Said Mike.
Debbie told us ‘We are mum and dad to some incredible children, some of whom are now at University and working in great jobs, something we have been able to offer them with advice and support over the years.’
Debbie and Mike have taken on some very challenging young people, which turned their lives around – just as they tell us, by offering them life choices and making them aware of the outcome.
If you are considering a career or life change in a career in fostering – the rewards will be incredible for you too, and you will be supported 24/7 by the Fostering Agency of your choice.
TACT offer some amazing support with excellent on-going training, access to the local fostering team, local support groups and social events and a generous salary and benefits package.
If you have been thinking about fostering for a while, contact your local TACT office, and find out how you can begin to embark on the career that will change both your life and that of a vulnerable child.
How many times have you heard the terminology ‘get a proper job?’ when someone wants to go into the creative arts, as if there is no hope of earning an income from such an outrageous career choice.
The same when going to the Theatre, Opera or Ballet, where you feel that the audience is part of the privileged elite.
So how do we create a space where we are not just preaching to the converted? Well, it seems It is actually beginning to happen, and the world is ready to amalgamate graft with creativity.
Take the Festival of Making https://festivalofmaking.co.uk/ that has just taken place in Blackburn – the first of its kind where industry is connected to art in every form. Art In Manufacturing for instance, where they unite artists and local industrial manufacturers in a creative collaboration.
It is evident with the success of Big Brother and increase in reality shows that the world is obsessed with being taken into people’s homes or communities to share their experiences.
After all, real life dramas happen all the time, whether it be at work, in the home or on the street. We heard of someone recently, waiting for a bus at the Oval in London with their small child, and a car skidded up, a man pulled a gun to the little guy standing next to her. It turned out to be a plain clothes policeman in a drug raid. The lady in question was too stunned to take a picture or video on her phone, but walked away with her child and after recovering from the shock, wished she had. That was an average day in an ordinary person’s life, but could have been a scene from a Hollywood movie.
Years ago the fifties ‘kitchen sink’ drama ‘Look Back in Anger’ was the film that made Albert Finney famous, and was set against a backdrop of Northern working class Britain and a desperate man in an unlikely marriage, struggling for survival.
Similarly ‘Cathy Come Home’ in the sixties portrayed an unmarried Mother swimming against the tide of prejudice and judgement. Both told stories of ordinary life and were blockbusters in their day. It started a trend for ‘real life’ dramas on celluloid, and brought starting reality to the big screen.
The locations are not always glamorous, and can take place in an office, a factory, or on your street corner – and these days ordinary people are capturing those moments on their iphone or ipad and sharing them with the World, some receiving millions of hits.
Take the young mum blogger ‘Tired and Tested’ who recently rewrote lyrics to one of Ed Sheeran’s songs ‘Shape of You’ and recorded it on her ipad in her kitchen, lyrics about how hard it is to be a mum. Lines like “I gag at the smell of poo, and the sight of vomit too,” As a result, her video went viral, and she is now a household name. So many parents relate to her situation .
See the video here
So in a thrice we can transform some part of our mundane everyday into moments of magic. After all, as the old saying goes, ‘truth is stranger than fiction’, and in your case it could also be your fortune or at least your claim to fame.
TESS DALY CALLS ON THE NATION TO ‘RAISE SOME DOUGH’ FOR GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL CHARITY
*Star revealed as the new face of the charity’s Bake it Better campaign*
GloTime.tv are proud supporters of GOSH
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Registered charity no. 1160024
Bake it Better Week: 22-28 May 2017
Tess Daly is encouraging novice cooks and patisserie pros alike to support children cared for at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) by hosting a ‘Bake it Better’ bake sale between 22-28 May.
Tess is supporting Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity to inspire budding bakers to create tempting treats to sell at home, in the office, at school or in their community, all to raise vital money for seriously ill children at GOSH. The former model and TV presenter is the charity’s first ‘Children’s Champion’, alongside her husband Vernon. The couple are longstanding supporters of the charity and Bake it Better is the latest fundraising campaign Tess has added some sparkle to.
Tess says: “I really enjoy spending time baking at home with my girls, and I promise that you don’t have to be an expert to whip up some tasty treats to help raise vital funds for this incredible charity. Over the last ten years I’ve had the privilege of meeting many children and families who have been cared for at Great Ormond Street Hospital and have seen first-hand how your support really does help”
Tim Johnson, Chief Executive at Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, added: “We’re absolutely delighted that Tess is supporting our Bake it Better campaign. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a whizz in the kitchen or just starting out, you’ll be part of a team of bakers who are joining in the fun and raising money to improve the lives of children cared for at GOSH at the same time. So please grab your mixing bowls, round up your friends, family and workmates; you’re guaranteed to make a big difference to seriously ill children from across the UK.”
Everyone who holds a bake sale will receive a free fundraising kit from the charity jam-packed full of bunting, cake toppers, posters, stickers and top tips to ensure every bake sale is a sweet success.
Money raised by supporters holding bake sales will help Great Ormond Street Hospital to provide world-class care for young children and their families. It could fund pioneering medical research, state-of-the-art medical equipment, support services for children and their families which includes parent accommodation so mums and dads can stay close by, and help the rebuilding and refurbishment of the hospital.
July 13, 2026 1811 Sir George Gilbert Scott 1933 Patsy Byrne 1942 Jim McGuinn 1859 Sidney Webb 1940 Patrick Stewart 1944 Erno Rubik 1903 Eric Portman 1942 Harrison Ford 1960 Ian Hislop
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