Can you open your heart to fostering with a Not-for-Profit fostering Charity? There is a demand for new foster carers as many retirees and replacing them with new foster carers with equal skills and experience in caring for children is hard to find. As the number of children in care grows, the number of foster carers decreases. And this is a worry as the number of children in care who are placed into foster homes by Independent Fostering Agencies grows. The reason for the worry is the huge costs they charge Local Authorities for their care. As a result, essential support services that could prevent families from becoming vulnerable are lost.
What skills do I need for fostering?
You would need a spare bedroom, over 21 years of age, and good health. Patience, kindness, and time to devote to a vulnerable child who may have suffered trauma are essential. However, most importantly, you will need to open your heart to fostering a child and committing yourself to them, no matter how long they need you.
Sadly, many children in care often feel ‘let down’; however, experience shows that children will flourish with the consistency of care, patience, kindness, and love of foster carers. Children need to feel valued and develop a sense of belonging with you; ultimately, we want children to be what they are; children.
Verve opened its heart to vulnerable children in care.
Verve recruits foster carers for Not for Profit Charities; we know our climate is challenging, especially for vulnerable children in care. More importantly, we know the challenges many children in care face without foster carers, especially older children and siblings; they need foster carers now more than ever before.
I opened my heart to vulnerable children in foster care after working with an IFA in recruitment; I know of the vast profits made from vulnerable children and disagree with it. Also, I know recruiting foster carers is difficult; the recruitment process puts people off, so I started Verve. I knew there was a better way of recruiting foster carers because we have to listen to what people want rather than dictate.
Verve Recruitment CIC screens in instead of screening out.
Too often, people with skills and experience in caring for children felt screened out rather than screened in; subsequently, children lost these fantastic potential foster carers to children who needed them. More importantly, we crushed many people’s long-held fostering dreams. They give up because they don’t feel valued and can’t get their voices heard; these are the people children need. We need foster carers to enable children and young people to get their voices heard too.
Not for Profit Charities need foster carers to help them continue their outstanding support for vulnerable children in their community. The Charities are often part of our communities’ fabric, seamlessly offering support when needed. However, like many great organisations, they are only as good as the people in them; for Charities to be effective, they need foster carers with a shared ethos.
Not for Profit Charities need foster carers who will keep pace and never give up on children because children are waiting. They need more foster carers now than ever before; sadly, the number of children waiting for them grows, yet the number of new foster carers decreases.
We need people who can open their hearts to fostering; if you have thought about fostering and want to know more, please get in touch.
Foster carers and their Charities have a shared ethos.
Many “Not for Profit” Fostering charities do not have vast numbers of Foster carers. They have fewer foster carers with outstanding skills in caring for children. More importantly, they have foster carers with skills, kindness, compassion and time to dedicate to children when they are vulnerable. Foster carers who represent charities are valued partners. They have a shared ethos; they share similar values, so strong fostering partnerships begin.
Not for Profit Charities support you every step of the way.
To achieve these strong fostering partnerships, Verve will partner with you and Not for Profit charities that we feel match each other; because we know how vital foster carers are. To do what you have to do, you have to be supported every step; without support, you can’t do what children need.
So, we take our time, match you with the right Charity for you, and ensure you get all the support you need. Ultimately, we need children to open their hearts to you because children often have their faith and trust abused; subsequently, they need to learn to trust again.
We need to match children with suitable foster carers; we do this by establishing strong fostering partnerships. And, like most things in life that are important, we don’t rush the process. We take time to get to know each other; because we know that this is when we are most effective; ultimately, we will make a more significant difference in the lives of children.
Children must stay within their community.
Not for Profit charities aim to keep children within their community. Children need to be held in their community, stay at their schools and be near family and friends; however, there are not enough foster carers for this to happen.
Sadly, many children in sibling groups are separated, and once this happens, the likelihood of reuniting them is slim. Children move to foster carers away from their community; sometimes, they are not even in the same county or country. How must it feel to be a child alone, away from everything they know as normal and now totally dependent on foster carers they don’t know?
Therefore, we need to recruit foster carers to work with Charities and keep children local. Furthermore, if we have more foster carers, then Local Authorities don’t need to use expensive foster carers from Independent Fostering Agencies, saving money possibly for more support services.
As a result, more local foster carers with Charities means children stay local and keep family connections. More importantly, children hold a sense of belonging from their born community. Subsequently, this is the community from which they have opened their hearts and is where they know they are loved.
Verve, creating engaging campaigns for Not-for-Profit charities.
Verve is the change-makers in fostering recruitment. We indeed listen, but we never give up trying to find outstanding foster carers for Charities; we also have a heart that is open to our community.
Verve Ambassadors and I are ladies who care and create articles and campaigns to highlight local charities that provide other support networks for vulnerable people and their families. We care because we know that life is hard for many families; help is available; however, you need to know where to find it.
Also, many Not for Profit charities have minimal marketing budgets, so we create campaigns free of charge to let people know of their services. It’s a chicken and eggs situation; you need help but can’t find it because you don’t know where to look.
And for many Charities who can’t afford expensive advertising agencies, we do it for them, especially when it is so important, like the ‘Knitted Bereavement Blankets, Hearts, Teddies & Toys Appeal’…
‘Our paths crossed with Val at a perfect point, where two charities could work together to support families who use our hospitals within the NCA.
Val has been flexible and supportive of our service (Swan charity within the NCA) and has helped us provide a universal offer to all families. Using knitted hearts and bears with children and adults when someone in their lives is sick is a huge source of comfort.
The knitted hearts and teddies create a link of comfort.
Knitted hearts or knitted teddies are identical pairs; one is with the family and the person who died; this creates a link between them. In the early days following a death, comfort can come from holding the bear/heart and knowing they have a link to the person; they can talk to it, squeeze it or hug it helps. As time and their grief evolve, the meaning and importance of this item may change and evolve.
During the height of Covid, these items were significant for all our patients as people could not visit. Ongoing, they are still important and beneficial for families to create comfort.
Val has embraced and understood what we are trying to achieve. With her enthusiasm, she is helping us to keep this going and reinvigorate the passion for people to support us with this campaign. There is no mean feat, especially when we are all a little ‘Covid tired’. Val is so caring and passionate about people and their well-being.’
Lisa Jones. Swan Charity. Salford Royal NHS Trust
COVID-19 is helping us to open our Hearts to our community.
Verve understands that life is hard for many families. COVID has damaged our communities and the health of ourselves and our families. The effects of COVID will last for many years and is something we have to live with; however, children shouldn’t have to learn to live with something. Children don’t understand the implications of COVID because their lives are in the now; for some children, the now is not a good place.
However, COVID has made some of us open our hearts to each other. We know that fostering might be right for us because we inherently want to make a difference, but we don’t know where to get the correct information.
Verve Recruitment CIC recruits foster carers for the Not for Profit sector only; there’s no obligation, just honest and independent advice. After all, when you have the correct information, you make the right choices, which is why Verve will help you decide if fostering is right for you with a Not for Profit Charity that will recognise your skills, and support you both, every step of the way.
If you would like to chat about fostering, please get in touch and send your details on the form below. There is no cost or commitment, just honest advice to help you begin your fostering journey with a not-for-profit charity in your community.
Together, we can make a difference in the lives of children in care; Can you foster?
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