Northumberland challenges other foster care teams

17 May 2021 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news

Northumberland’s Foster Care team has challenged other local authorities to follow in their footsteps and take on the ‘Jerusalema Dance Challenge’ creating a wave of awareness across the country in aid of fostering and the opportunities it brings.

The ‘Jerusalema Dance Challenge’ is an example of how dance brings people together, working together for a purpose. Last year it went viral and inspired Northumberland’s Foster Care Team to get involved.

Kicking it off on Monday, May 10th the team in Northumberland challenged Leeds City Council to get on board.

Ben Whitehead – Fostering Team Manager (Leeds), said: “We are delighted to be taking part in the challenge, it sounded such fun and a great way to celebrate Foster Care Fortnight both locally and nationally. Yorkshire seems to have really stepped up to the mark being one of the best participating regions; Bradford, Kirklees, East Riding and North Yorkshire are all signed up and donning their dance shoes.”
Foster care plays a vital role in so many children and young people’s lives up and down the country.

The song behind the dance challenge means ‘go with me, protect me and take me home’ something with resonates with the role of a foster carer; someone who takes a child or young person in to their home and protects them until they can either go back to their family home, permanent foster care or are adopted.

Cath McEvoy-Carr, Executive Director for Adult and Children’s Services, said: “It is great to see other local authorities and foster care teams taking part in this. It is a fantastic way to raise awareness and hopefully get people talking and encourage them to enquire about being a foster carer.”
You can see all those who have taken part in the dance challenge on Northumberland County Council’s social media channels.

So far over 18 authorities have signed up to the challenge as part of the awareness campaign including East Riding, Liverpool, Foster4 (Cheshire West, Chester, Halton and Warrington), Brighter Futures for Children – Reading, Stockport, Havering, Sefton, Medway, Bury, Kirklees, Bradford, North Yorkshire, Trafford and Dudley. The more the merrier!

Northumberland Fostering Team Manager, Christine Logan, set the fostering team away with the original challenge saying, "It’s been a tough year for everyone, so we wanted to do some different awareness raising this Foster Care Fortnight.  Our foster families and our supporting teams are all amazing!  We have all had additional pressures, which adults, children and young people have all stepped up to face together.  The JC, as we shortened it to, symbolises how everyone pulls together to get through hard times in a rewarding and fun way - the JC also has a bit of fitness thrown in too! "

You can see all those taking part as and when they are challenged to do so at https://padlet.com/Northumberland/FosteringJerusalemaChallenge