Scottish Women's Football launches charity partnership with Barnardo's Scotland Fostering

The partnership will provide four girls youth teams with £500 worth of strips and equipment, with the sides that have been chosen to benefit from this fantastic opportunity representing a variety of Scotland’s regions: FC Kilmarnock, Falkirk LFC, Aberdeen LFC and Dundee United Sports Club.

Players from the FC Kilmarnock youth team attended this morning’s launch to show off their new strips which display the Barnardo's logo and lettering of Barnardo's Scotland Fostering.

Barnardo’s Scotland Fostering is supporting Scottish women's and girls’ football in a bid to raise awareness of fostering and to forge stronger links in local communities. The number of children in care in the UK living with foster families at any one time has risen every year since 2005 from 49,700 to over 59,000 in 2011. It is hoped the initiative will help raise awareness of the need for fostering and help develop a good network of carers across the country.

Stephanie Stone, Barnardo's Scotland Assistant Director for Fostering and Adoption said: “The majority of our foster carers have strong links with their local community and are the sort of people who regularly turn up to support their children at football every week. We want to spread the message about how fostering can change the lives of children and young people.”

Maureen McGonigle, Executive Administrator for Scottish Women's Football said: “We are very much looking forward to working in Partnership with Barnardo's Scotland Fostering services. Football for girls and women is one of Scotland's fastest growing sports and we feel the benefits gained from being part of our organisation will help young girls to become happy, healthy and confident adults. This is in line with the philosophy adopted by Barnardo's when looking to place children and young people with Foster Carers.”
 

Barnardo's Scotland and SWF will be working together in the coming months to explore how fostered children, their foster carers and their birth children can experience both the girls and women's game in Scotland as spectators or players. This will include match tickets, links to local clubs and publishing volunteering opportunities in both organisations.

Furthermore, Barnardo's Scotland Fostering will also be supporting SWF’s celebrated awards evening in November.

Foster carers come from all walks of life and you don't have to come from a childcare profession to foster children. Barnardo's Scotland is looking for carers with a high level of understanding and warmth; people who are nurturing and who will help children get the best out of life; be supportive of them at school; encourage them to do well and be advocates for them.

Football is all about belonging and being part of a team and this is something that can be missing for a child who is waiting to be fostered.

To find out more about fostering and adoption, you can call 0845 894 9501 or visit the Barnardo’s website here.