Wednesday, 9 September 2020
National Foster Care Week begins on Sunday and it highlights the important role foster carers play in providing a safe and loving environment for a child in care to thrive.
But the job of a foster carer can be challenging and demanding, and sometimes even the most capable need help.
The Pyjama Foundation is a charity that aims to give children in foster care the opportunity to change the direction of their lives with education, learning, and confidence. Their ‘Love of Learning’ project recruits and trains ‘Pyjama Angels’ who are matched with a child in care to spend time with once a week, providing the child with a mentor and respite for the full-time carer.
A $24,000 grant from Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundationhas enabled the expansion of this program onto the Central Coast for the first time.
Pyjama Foundation’s CEO and Founder Bronwyn Sheehan, said the recent Love of Learning Program expansion has made a significant difference to the lives of many foster families across the Central Coast.
“I’m constantly in awe of the enormous impact this program makes to a child in care,” Mrs Sheehan said.
“Children in foster care thrive when empowered by a support person, and our Love of Learning Program provides them with another ‘constant’ adult influence to have fun with and learn with, as well as providing our dedicated foster carers with much needed respite.
“The cost for us to screen, recruit, train and place a Pyjama Angel with a child to mentor is approximately $500.
“The grant so far has enabled the recruitment and training of 18 volunteers on the Central Coast, and a lifetime of potential change for children in foster care. We’re so grateful to Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation for their support,”Mrs Sheehan said.
Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation Chair, Jennifer Leslie, said it was a privilege to be involved in this local project which helps to give vulnerable children a chance to rewrite their future.
“Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation’s mission is to help rewrite the future of people who are disadvantaged, marginalised or isolated within our community,” Jennifer said.
“This program not only supports and provides a positive influence on young children in care, but it also supports their foster carers, who without support can become severely isolated and vulnerable.
“Children in care, by no fault of their own, have had an unimaginably difficult start to life. I commend The Pyjama Foundation, their 18 volunteer Pyjama Angels based on the Central Coast, and our local foster carers for their ongoing dedication in supporting children in care,” Jennifer concluded.