Your donations shipped to help children in need

Published Friday 28 July 2017 at 16:58

Hundreds of children have been helped this summer thanks to donations from kind-hearted Council staff and foster carers.

Masses of clothing and shoes are set to be shipped to Uganda to help Orphans and their teachers.

Other items donated as part of the appeal will go to local families in need.

Sacks of clothing donations were delivered to local radio station 2BR in Clayton-Le-Moors yesterday ready to be shipped thousands of miles to the African country.

The Council’s Letsfoster service has been supporting the Uganda appeal, in an effort to raise awareness of the need to help children locally and also those abroad.

Cllr Maureen Bateson, Blackburn with Darwen’s Executive Member for Children’s Services, thanked everyone who has donated items for their support. She said:

We were overwhelmed by the donations that were collected in just a few weeks from Council buildings in Blackburn and Darwen. The amount of donations are testament to the generosity of our staff and our foster carers.

I would like to thank everybody who has supported the campaign that is helping both children and families here and abroad.

Cllr Bateson added:

We’ve seen first hand from video reports the true impact that these donations have had.

What seems like a small gesture to those of us who are more fortunate, to those who have very little, it is quite the opposite, for some it’s life changing.

2BR presenter Sarah Collins, who travelled to Uganda with a team of volunteers from Blackburn school QEGS, said:

It’s been an amazing two weeks working in Uganda and seeing the impact that the donations have had.

It’s not only changed their lives, it’s changed the way I personally view things. The children have been fantastic, they truly are an inspiration and are so thankful to everyone who has donated and continues to keep them supplied with clothing and shoes.  To them these basic items are a luxury and they are so grateful to everyone here for helping them.

Foster carer Paula Quinn arranged for dozens of t-shirts to be donated to the appeal.

She said:

HASSRA, the sports and social association for employees of various government departments, recently re-branded and found itself with a surplus of polo shirts.

“We have been looking for a suitable use for these shirts and were delighted to be able to donate them to this very worthwhile charity appeal.

In Blackburn with Darwen alone there are currently dozens of children waiting for foster families.

Cllr Bateson added:

Whilst the comparisons between the needs of children here and abroad are in some ways different, the sentiment that we also have children here, locally in desperate need of a foster family remains. We urgently need more people to consider fostering and I would urge anybody who has thought about it to get in touch and talk to us to find out if you could help.

To find out more about fostering in Blackburn with Darwen please visit letsfoster.co.uk.

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