Fun festive selfies for fostering

Visitors to Blackburn Market got the chance to learn about fostering and take crazy Christmas photos for the launch of a new campaign.

More foster carers are needed for children aged over 11, sibling groups and children who may have health issues or disabilities.

The ‘Lets Foster’ campaign set up a photo-booth for people to take fun festive selfies with Santa hats and bears, Christmas pudding hats and reindeer antlers, to raise awareness of fostering in the borough.

Blackburn with Darwen’s Fostering Team and dedicated foster carers were on hand to help with advice and answer any questions about fostering.

The campaign got the support from local ‘King of the Selfies’ Shakeel Choudhry, who came along to meet the team and the carers and add to the 200 photos he takes every week.

Blackburn with Darwen’s Fostering Team work hard to build a strong relationship between the carer and their supervising social worker to make sure that careers and the foster child have all the support and guidance they need.

Councillor Maureen Bateson, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Executive Member for Children’s Services, said:

Foster carers have an incredibly important role and finding people to care for children who can be that little bit harder to place is crucial.

We are looking for very special people who are prepared to turn around the lives of these young people who may have had difficult lives or may have more complex needs and need a little more care and a family life. We have lots of support and training for our foster carers and we have backup support if carers need it.

Foster carers don’t have to be part of a couple, or a certain age, or employed. We just want to match the right people up with the right children. At this time of year especially, the best gift you can give a child is a home with love and care.”

For more information or to apply to be a foster carer, please go to www.letsfoster.co.uk