Highlights from Foster and Kinship Carer Week
Foster and kinship carers selflessly offer their time, their homes and their hearts to children and young people in need in Queensland. We proudly support over 1000 carers, who in turn care for over 1800 kids.
Some beautiful events happened over the week. From dinners, activities for the kids, gift vouchers, morning teas and ceremony to collaborative events with our peer organisations, our teams went all out to make the week special for carers, young people, and each other.
Our Fraser Coast CofC office and the Child Safety Service Centre hosted 45 carers for a morning tea at the Neighbourhood Centre, with a beautiful smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country. Mayor George Seymour came along, gave a speech and helped draw the prizes. Delicious food and lucky door prizes were a hit on the day, and all carers left with a ‘Mindfulness Showbag’ as a thank you for all they do.
Two events were held in Bundaberg. Morning tea at the office brought together a fabulous turnout of carers, staff from Child Safety and local members to celebrate and share stories. And an outing to Inflatable World was a hit with the kids, while carers enjoyed a coffee and chat. 100 young people got to bounce around and have fun, and a lovely gift of handmade coffee mug with chocolates and personalised notes were given to all the carers in attendance.
Mackay hosted a Foster and Kinship Care Week carer’s dinner on Friday 10th May at Northern Beaches Bowls Club. Attended by 70 carers and staff from Child Safety, Churches of Christ Qld, Life Without Barriers and Marabisda, it was a lovely evening of story telling, connection and appreciation for those who are taking care of kids in the Mackay area. Regional Director of Child Safety Dimitra Fotinos says “Thank you for your service. You are raising the next generation of courageous people – you are priceless!”
COFC Moreton Bay Foster and Kinship Care Service participated in the FEAT Foster and Kinship Care Appreciation dinner at Norths Leagues and Services Club. This was a joint celebration with carers and staff from our partnering agencies Mercy, Anglicare, and Uniting Care. Our carers enjoyed a delicious 3 course meal and won prizes from Bingo and Lucky Door raffle. It was a wonderful night celebrating the invaluable contributions of our Foster and Kinship Carers.
