Romsey based independent fostering agency, Blue Sky Fostering, are supporting a care leavers Christmas initiative to give gifts to vulnerable young adults leaving care.
Blue Sky’s local offices in Ringwood, Romsey, Swanwick and Basingstoke have opened up as gift drop-off points from now until December 12th.
The drive was established by Sophie Hannington, who was in foster care herself, in order to bring the local community together to support vulnerable young people who’ve left the fostering family home. Of the gift drive, Sophie said:
Leaving your family, then leaving a foster family and starting all over again at such a young age can be a daunting and lonely experience for some. You can feel unloved and worthless and it’s these times we as a community need to step in and support these young people on their journeys of finding their place in the world, with the right support so they feel like they have a family in the community around them. This is more than just the gifts, it’s about making sure these young people know they are not alone as we are here to support them.
Blue Sky CEO, Simon Lockyer said:
Supporting young people through their fostering journey and into independence is extremely important for Blue Sky Fostering. This doesn’t stop when they move out of their foster family’s home. Leaving foster care can be a daunting and scary time, so it’s important that care leavers still receive some home comforts at Christmas, which can be such a lonely time for some. Blue Sky has chosen to support Sophie’s hard work by encouraging our staff, Foster Carers and the local public to support this gift drive.
Donations of small individual gifts or hampers can be made, including items such as chocolates, toiletry gift sets, cosy socks and supermarket vouchers. Blue Sky and Sophie will then be wrapping and distributing the gifts to care leavers in the local area, from a variety of organisations, not just Blue Sky.
For more information about how you can donate, visit the Blue Sky website here or see Sophie’s Facebook page: http://bit.ly/missioncareleaver
