The community of North Lincolnshire came together during Foster Care Fortnight ™ and completed an outstanding 1900 miles. That is the equivalent of more than 3.9 million steps!
Foster Care Fortnight is an annual campaign set up by The Fostering Network that is a chance to celebrate the fostering community and showcase how fostering transforms lives.
Young people living with a foster family were asked if more people should know about fostering and they said: “Yes, because it will help people understand what it is like for children in foster families and that we all just want a loving home and be taken care of.”
“Foster Care Fortnight makes people aware that they can change someone’s life.”
The Fostering Recruitment Team, who are only a team of five, pledged to complete 700,000 steps during the fortnight, in support of the 70,000 children who are currently in care across the UK.
The team smashed their 700,000 target by completing a sole blistering 832,663 steps.
There was a buzz of activity and events taking place within the community for people to find out more about fostering and pledge their support.
The launch of the campaign took place with the year six students from Barton St. Peter’s CE Primary joining the fostering team for a walk and talk. Each child wore something orange in support of The Fostering Network and received a goody bag, including a certificate.
Year six from The Winterton Federation also joined the team to walk from their school to Simon’s Wood during the fortnight, completing a scavenger hunt and aiding the team to build their total steps.
There was a Fostering Parkrun takeover in Central Park in Scunthorpe that was supported by 338 people who ran, jogged or walked the 5km route.
The team also hosted a Fostering Virtual Information Evening and were out and about at Brigg Garden Centre, The Ropewalk, Normanby Hall and ended the fortnight with a Twilight Walk.
The Twilight Walk was hosted by the Fostering Recruitment Team and opened by The Mayor of North Lincolnshire, Cllr Janet Longcake. Residents and members of the Fostering Friendly Scheme joined them on their walking venture and showed their support for the fostering community.
The Cookie People thanked North Lincolnshire foster carers by creating a limited-edition chocolate orange ‘Big up Fosters’ cookie which were thoroughly enjoyed by each attendee on the Twilight Walk.
The Fostering flowerbed in Kingsway Gardens has also been sustainably replanted with Buxus plants.
Alan and Lynn, North Lincolnshire foster carers, said: “Foster Care Fortnight is about spreading the word about fostering, to involve the community to support looked after children so that no children miss out on being part of a loving family.”
Sally Crookes MAR, owner of Calming Soles Reflexology shared her thoughts on being a part of the fortnight, saying: “So many children find themselves in need of a loving, secure home through no fault of their own. It is vital to raise awareness of this in order to find foster carers and I wanted to be a part of this.”
Phil Jacob, Head of Fundraising at The Fostering Network, says: “We’re incredibly grateful for the support shown by North Lincolnshire Council during Foster Care Fortnight 2023. Walking over 830,000 steps to support our work, and most importantly, for everyone involved in foster care, is no mean feat and is something to be proud of.
“Getting behind the campaign and spreading the word about foster care is a big step in encouraging others to join the fostering community. By doing so, a huge difference can be made to the lives of children and young people in North Lincolnshire and throughout the UK.
“We know that this must go beyond Foster Care Fortnight and urge anyone considering becoming a foster carer to contact North Lincolnshire’s fostering recruitment team, or if from another area, to find your local fostering service on our website.”
Following Foster Care Fortnight, keep up that active momentum and challenge yourself to achieve your daily steps/miles.
There are a variety of great ways to get motivated and conquer those miles:
• Walking the Way to Health
• Check out The Daily Mile: Fit for Life challenge.
• Arrange a catch up with friends and go walking together.
• Join one of our three local Parkruns where you can walk or run a 5K route along with others. There is the Scunthorpe parkrun at Central Park, Normanby Hall and the Ancholme Way in Brigg. There is also the Junior parkrun on Sunday morning that covers 2k and can be done as a family. This takes place at Brumby rec ground off Brumby Wood Lane, Scunthorpe.
A huge thank you to everyone that has taken part, pledged and been involved in Foster Care Fortnight 2023. You can watch our Foster Care Fortnight montage video on The North Lincolnshire Council YouTube channel.
To find out more about Fostering, attend the next Virtual Information Evening on Wednesday 19 July at 6.30pm. Register via Eventbrite.
You can also meet the team at the Water’s Edge Wildlife Day on Sunday 30 July 10am to 4pm.
To find out more about Fostering, visit the website, email fostering@northlincs.gov.uk or call 01724 297024.
