Northumberland joins national campaign to recruit more foster carers during the Women's World Cup
19 Jul 2023 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Watch Team Northumberland kick off their fostering campaign for the Women's World Cup
Our fostering service has teamed up with Gateshead Council to represent the North East in a nationwide campaign during the Women's World Cup with the aim of achieving just one goal - to recruit more foster carers for children and young people.
24 local council fostering teams have reformed Local Councils United – a virtual league with each team showcasing their football inspired films to cheer on the benefits of fostering for your local council.
As the nation follows with pride our England Lionesses, local councils take pride in their carers and the children and young people they inspire, encourage and coach to be the best that they can be.
Football players, carers, young people and staff are all featured in the film clips which will play out each day on social media during the World Cup campaign with the hashtags #FosterGreatness #FosterWithYourCouncil.
Northumberland County Council currently supports over 180 foster families, but with 445 children in care, there is an urgent need for more people to come forward and join the team.
Cllr Guy Renner-Thompson, Cabinet member for Inspiring Young People, said: “Football brings people and communities together and as a region with a strong footballing identity, we hope this project will bring more people to join our fostering team and support local children.
“We are so thankful to all our foster families. They are key players in the Children’s Services team that help our children thrive during extraordinary times in their lives."
Cllr Gary Haley, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People at Gateshead Council, said: "We are extremely proud of our Gateshead fostering community comprising over 150 foster carers who play an important role in supporting the children and young people they care for to achieve their goals.
“We understand the challenges that come with this important role, and fully support our carers through every stage of the process.”
The campaign will kick off on Thursday 20 July with Northumberland County Council throwing the first ball of the World Cup Campaign on Day 2 and passing to Gateshead Council for Day 3.
Both videos will feature fostering team members and foster carers highlighting the benefits of fostering with Gateshead and Northumberland.
Northumberland Foster Carer Barbara said: “Joining Berwick Rangers Wildcats for this campaign took me back to my PE teaching days – I love helping children who are living with us to learn and grow.
"Northumberland support us to do this, so it’s great to be able to support the national world cup campaign.”
Lesley, a foster carer with Gateshead Council, said: "We currently foster four children, all of whom have benefitted from great experiences through football.
“One of the boys plays for a local club where he has learned about teamwork and has grown in confidence which has been great to see. He hopes to play professional one day."
Do you have what it takes to be a fostering champion? If you do, your local council is waiting to hear from you.
Follow the social media campaign and support your local fostering team as it travels across the country from Northumberland to Gateshead to Hertfordshire from 20
July. To catch all the highlights along the way or track the campaign go to
https://can-campaigns.co.uk/local-councils-united/
Watch Team Northumberland kick off their fostering campaign for the Women's World Cup