Groundbreaking adoption fun day finds families for children

Children who are waiting to be adopted and prospective adopters came together for a day of fun on the 26^th of February.

35 children and 46 sets of adopters from across the North-West were invited to the Disney-themed fun day and given the chance to dress up and enjoy activities such as crafts, soft play, racing cars, a live magic show and even alpaca walking.

The children are amongst some of those who have waited the longest to be adopted. Many have additional needs, are slightly older, or part of sibling groups.

The aim of the day was to give adopters the opportunity to make connections with the children, face-to-face, fun and safe way so they can form bonds and memories with their potential future families.

Karen Barrick, Head of Service for Adoption Now, said:

This fun day has been really special and it’s been great to work with our partner agencies to help achieve the very best outcomes for our children and adopters. We know that these events are really successful in giving families the opportunity to spend real, quality-time with children, even sometimes with children who they may not have considered previously with more traditional family finding methods; but by giving them the chance to get to know them and play with them, a magical connection can be formed. We really hope that we’ve made some forever families here that will give our children the love, security and nurture they need to grow and develop into the best little people they can be.

The groundbreaking, collaborative event was the first of its kind with agencies from the ‘North-West Adoption Agencies Together’ consortium, which Blackburn with Darwen Council is part of, joining forces to host a fantastic day and most importantly find strong and lasting matches for children and adopters from across the region.

Adoption agencies in the region are still looking for more families to come forward and consider adoption. Cllr Julie Gunn, Executive Member for Children’s Services in BwD, said:

It is great to see collaborative events like these hosted in the North West. We hope that joining forces to host fun days like this, find matches for children and adopters from across the region and help find the homes children deserve, where they can thrive and be loved.

The success of the event will be determined in the coming months but it is hoped many of the connections made on the day will become happy and safe forever families.

The Department for Education funded the event. Children and Families Minister, Will Quince, said:

Seeing Regional Adoption Agencies and their partners come together to energise the adoption system and seek opportunities to match children and their prospective families is exactly what our National Adoption Strategy is all about.

I’m pleased to see children in the North-West benefitting from these fun and creative tactics, and I encourage RAAs across the country to consider similar events.

If you live in Blackburn with Darwen and would like to find out more about adoption please contact Adoption Now on 01204 336096 or visit www.adoptionnow.org.uk

There are also two online information evenings in March, find out more about these below:
Adoption Now information events available online as need for adopters increases | The Shuttle: Blackburn with Darwen Council News