Reading Carers Link - Supporting Children and Young People in Care. Please see our latest project.
Our aim is to support foster carers and children/ young people in care within Reading and the surrounding districts. We do this by providing support, advice, information and development opportunities for the children and their foster families.We also support training and education of foster carers and aim to advance public knowledge about substitute care of children.
Why the community needs usChildren and young people come into care for a variety of reasons. This time is often confusing and unsettling for them. Our aim is to enhance the physical and emotional wellbeing of those children while they are in care and support their foster families.Our current project is to raise funds to buy toys and new play equipment for the Family Support Centres, where children spend time with their birth families in a secure environment.
Our impact on the communityLast year we ran a number of events for the children and their carers. These included regular swimming sessions, a day trip to the sea-side and fun play session for the babies and toddlers. These events all helped the children to feel special and give them something to enjoy, during what can be a very difficult time.In addition, we ran support groups for the foster carers and maintained the telephone support line, all of which are valued support tools for the carers.
Reading Carers Link are actively seeking new people who would like to get involved with one or more of our activities. Opportunities exist for fund-raising, web-site development, training, mentoring, buddying, linking with other foster care associations and much more. Contact one of the members of RCL (all names and phone numbers are given in the LINK magazine) for more details.
