Fostering: How We Make a Difference
Date published
23 August 2024
For everyone involved in fostering, it's not just a choice, it’s a calling.
The calling can come to a young couple, or it can come to someone newly retired; each circumstance will be individual, but the same sentiment seems to run behind every decision to foster: an urge to make a difference.
At its core, making a difference is about contributing positively to the lives of others. Its secret gift, however, is that by helping another person your own life is enriched. Surely all career paths must make a difference on one level or another – but very few seem to provide the obvious impact as clearly as fostering does.
The Power of Fostering to Make a Difference
“To the world, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world.” Dr Seuss
Nowhere else is this quote as true as it is in fostering, where the care and support provided by foster families can be life-changing for the child in their care. But it's not just the young person that benefits: helping others gives a sense of purpose and increased happiness for the provider too.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others". Isn't this true? As much as there are challenges and difficult weeks within fostering, there is also fulfilment to be found as well as a deeper sense of purpose by caring so directly for a young person.
Category
Fostering insights
Topics
- Advice
- Support
- Foster Carer
- In person
Date published
23 August 2024
How Blue Sky Aims to Make a Difference
The motivation to make a difference isn’t just exclusive to foster carers – speak to any member of staff at Blue Sky, and you quickly realise it’s the same calling behind their choice of career. Making a difference – dedicating ourselves to improving the lives of children and supporting foster carers – is the calling behind every team member at Blue Sky and it's at the very heart of all that we do.
We are continually looking to find ways of increasing our support to our foster carers, and looking ahead, the future looks bright for us to continue to do so. We are committed to going above and beyond to strengthen our support for our foster carers and the children in their care. We continue to develop how we offer training, resources, and ongoing support to ensure that every foster family feels equipped and confident in their role.
[Picture of Blue Sky's Agency Director Nicola Crisp and Regional Director Rupert Bolger with Eve Ibbott, Food Bank Manager at Freedom Church, Hampshire]
Growing Stronger Together
We are also dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of fostering and encouraging more people to get involved. Fostering is a community effort: by working together and expanding our networks, we all grow stronger together.
We can build on how we make a difference - not only by providing as many ways of supporting our foster carers as we can - but by also engaging with the wider community to create a more supportive environment for all children and families.
Living Our Values
We understand that a successful foster care agency goes far beyond placing children in loving homes; it’s about creating a network of support that empowers families and builds stronger communities around our foster carers to help strengthen them further.
Helping our local communities - whether by donating food to a food bank, raising money for Kids Matter to help support families through financial hardship, or supporting local charities and initiatives that are important to our foster carers - provides additional support to families in need. As our core value states, ‘We are one family, we stand shoulder to shoulder’. We grow stronger together.
Fostering and Community Wellbeing
Children who grow up in stable, loving environments are more likely to become well-adjusted, contributing members of society. It is by supporting foster children in the here and now that we are investing in the future of our community.
There are many skills needed to be a foster carer, not least empathy, compassion, and understanding - and it is these qualities that are also essential for building stronger, more resilient communities. So, fostering a child not only helps that individual child but also resonates outwards, contributing to a culture of care and support that benefits everyone.
Fostering is a powerful way to make a difference in the lives of children and in doing so, also in the wider community.
Blue Sky is committed to making a difference by providing high-quality fostering services, supporting our foster families, and engaging with the community to create a brighter future for all. As the late and great Desmond Tutu said "Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world."
And so we do, with each day that a foster carer continues to love and support the child in their care, however difficult some days may be. And so we do, as Blue Sky continue to work on building support services and spreading good about us. And so we do, a hundred small acts of kindness extending out from foster carers and staff, helping one another, strengthening one another, building communities, building support and strength to benefit others and to benefit ourselves.
We hold the power to make an impact, no matter how small, and together, we can create a world where every child feels safe, loved, and valued.
Read more from Blue Sky Fostering
Skills to Foster Training with Nicki Molton
Learning and Development Manager Nicki Molton, shares all about our Skills to Foster Training, and describes the process of becoming a foster carer.
The Experience of a Therapeutically Led foster carer.
Tracey describes being part of the pilot of our now highly regarded Therapeutically Led Care programme. Tracey achieved a real communication breakthrough when she decided to write a book for the boy in her care.
Meet the Team: Clare Barnaby, Fostering Assessment Manager
Clare is so charming that it can be easy to forget that she's a powerhouse of knowledge within her field. Here she discusses the assessment process - and her love of pop music.
Are you interested in joining Blue Sky Fostering as a foster carer?
Contact us now for more information.
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