Lancashire teens create care bags for foster care children

As part of the government-backed National Citizen Service (NCS) scheme with leading employment skills charity Inspira, a total of 16 young people delivered bags of goodies and hygiene products to Lancashire County Council Social Services for distribution among people in care.

The NCS works with 16 and 17-year-olds to build confidence and encourage them to give back to their communities and linked up with the Lancaster branch of Inspira to run a summer programme of activities.

The teenagers were challenged to support a local charity or cause and, from that task, the group Security Aid For Everybody (S.A.F.E.) was formed.

With the support of company Madlug, which donated more than 60 bags, the teens used the £900 they raised through a fun day to purchase items suitable for the different age ranges of children in care.

The bags for the younger children contained toys, hygiene products, colouring books and crayons, while the items for the older children included sanitary products, body wash, face wipes and blankets.

S.A.F.E. Project Manager Sarah Clarke who has been through the fostering system herself, said: “I know people don’t go into the system with much and the foster carer receiving the child may not have had time to prepare for their arrival at short notice.

“The young person might get some contents in a black bin big and that can be very upsetting, so we wanted to make sure they had some of their own possessions especially if they are in a care home with eight to nine other children where you end up having to share everything.”

The project was the culmination of an action-packed summer programme of Inspira-supported NCS activity.

Ruth Dunstan, NCS wave leader for Lancaster on behalf of Inspira added: “The difference we see in the young people from day one to the final day of the two-week programme is amazing.

“The wide variety of campaigns supported by the latest wave of teenagers just shows how much of a big difference the NCS programme can have on the community and the young people themselves."

Anyone wishing to find out more about the NCS programme should CLICK HERE.