Learn what Wales Lead Neil has been up to over the summer, and celebrate stories from around Wales. Read about the success of our summer fundraising campaign, Walk with Me, and be among the first to access our new Christmas resources!

Welcome to another update from Wales! We’re excited to share with you what we’ve been up to over the summer, and what we’re looking forward to in the months ahead.

September has seen the last few donations roll in from our summer fundraising campaign, Walk with me. On average, children in care are moved 18+ miles because there are not enough local carers. Every child and young person in care should be able to stay in their local area if it’s safe for them to do so. We’re working to find local homes for local children and teenagers so that no one is put in this position. This summer, we wanted to stand with them; we said we would walk with them. Amazingly, individuals, families, groups of friends and whole churches laced up their shoes and took to the streets, trails and mountains to demonstrate their commitment to children in care by walking, rolling, scooting – any kind of moving! – around 18 miles, raising vital funds for Home for Good in the process.

Our own Neil got stuck in, and he shares some of his reflections with us:

“The figure of 18 miles is based on research in England; we’ve been told it’s likely to be similar in Wales (no similar study has been carried out here to my knowledge). In order to reflect the difference, I went for 19 miles instead, and decided that I would walk to 19 Trig Points – as I write this I will be doing my 18 this evening and then finishing on Saturday 16 September on Pen-Y-Fan, South Britain’s highest mountain! If you haven’t done so already would you please consider sponsoring me so that we can continue to do our great work (in my opinion!). If you would like to, please click here.

At the time of writing this update, we’ve raised nearly £20,000 – isn’t that incredible! And we know of a few more who are still to take on their walk. We want to say an enormous THANK YOU to everyone who walked with us this summer, and to all who donated. Your support will make a huge difference for children in care.

Our agreements with Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Fostering and Western Bay Adoption Service continue to progress well. Our agreement with St David’s Adoption Services is especially focussing our efforts into Newport and Llanelli. Please get in touch if you live in any of these areas to help us build relationships with church communities. Neil has the privilege of meeting a number of church leaders in Carmarthenshire , Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Torfaen and Cardiff all of whom are very keen to develop a relationship with Home for Good. He also spoke at Cornerstone Church, Abergavenny in and at York Place Baptist Church, Swansea in September. Around 80 people in all were able to hear and connect with the message of Home for Good and some great conversations followed in each meeting. We just love visiting churches, so if you would like a Home for Good speaker to visit your church, please visit our website and complete the Book a speaker form. If you’d like to find out more about what it means to be a Home for Good Church, you can read more here.

Earlier in the summer, Neil shared a speaking engagement with the wonderful Laura Jenkins of Penned in love at Hope Church, Skewen. Laura has written a book entitled ‘Poems in the waiting’ which was written during her and her husband Daniel’s journey to adopting their son. It’s a quite amazing book charting the ups, downs and everything in between. If you would like to purchase a copy please click on the link above. All proceeds from sales are very kindly donated to Home for Good.

In August we welcomed a new Champion, Emily, who is part of Gateway Church, Abergavenny. Having met Emily a few times I know that she will bring an amazing passion and efficiency to the role. Welcome Emily! Also in August we were delighted welcome Sandy as an official Home for Good Peer Support Group Volunteer. Sandy will bring an enormous amount of experience and wisdom to the Llanelli Adoption Support Group. The group is still being organised but it is hope will be ready to begin early in the new year. We couldn’t do what we do without the support of our incredible Champions and Peer Support Volunteers. To find our more about volunteer opportunities at Home for Good, click here.

Speaking of Peer Support Groups, the Cardiff Support groups met in both July and August in a Cardiff park. It is proving to be an amazing source of support for all involved. Neil shares:

“At 2.00pm on the day in August, rain came lashing down as I was sitting in the car park where we were all meeting thinking that no one is going to come in this weather. The WhatsApp group then began to ‘ping’, “I’ll be there shortly”, “I’m on my way”…. In the end we had more than ever turn up as the rain disappeared – a great afternoon!”

We are very keen to help explore setting Peer Support Groups up around the country. If this is a passion and desire of yours that you would like to look into please get in touch at [email protected].

Every meeting, engagement and opportunity this summer brought also brought with it a story. Neil shares a few of the stories that have stuck with him:

Recently I had the pleasure of spending time chatting with Heulwen about Heirs, a charity dedicated to seeing every child in Wales thrive, one life at a time. She told me about what inspired the project; ‘As I began to explore in greater depth the scale of the problem and understand something of the stories of those who enter the care system, I wrestled with how to capture the sense of value and worth that I wanted to convey to these children and young people, and I felt that God gave me Romans 8:17 to sum it up: Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ… (Romans 8:17). For children who may feel little value, God speaks this immeasurable value; for those who don’t feel belonging, he gives family; for those who struggle with identity, he calls us his own — we are Heirs. And that means everything.'

I also enjoyed spending an afternoon with a wonderful couple in Newport who have recently welcomed their 70^th foster child. Hearing their story and the stories of their various placements throughout the years was truly inspiring.

There’s lots to look forward to as we look towards the Autumn. This year, National Adoption Week takes place 17 – 23 October. Neil is looking to hold Vision Events where we will outline Home for Good and inspire people to consider welcoming children who need homes. If you would like an event in your town/city please contact [email protected].

Neil will be going to Coleg Y Bala in October for a weekend they are putting on for foster and adoptive families. It promises to be a great weekend where so much encouragement and support will be on offer and great activities for the children. If you wish to enquire, you can get in touch directly at [email protected].

Neil will also be visiting Y Groesfaen Church, St David’s and Kings Church, Swansea in October, and The English Mission, Ystrad Mynach in November.

While the summer may be drawing to a close, our resolve to secure better for children and young people remains strong. We know that this ‘back to school’ season can be really challenging for some children and young people with care experience; for some, it can be one of the hardest times of year. That’s why we’ve launched our Back-to-school fundraising campaign. With your support, we can find more foster carers, adoptive families and supported lodgings hosts – because it’s easier to go back to school when you know you’ve something stable to come home to. Donate today and invest in the lives of children and young people. Find out more here.

Finally, despite the recent heatwaves, Home for Good have started to put plans in place for this year’s Christmas resource package! We are so excited to share with you a brand new, free and flexible package of all-age resources for your church to enjoy this Christmas season. A promise of hope includes a brand new video, some inspiration for a talk or sermon, congregational prayers and activities for children and youth groups. The Christmas resource package will be released later in the Autumn, but you can sign up now to register your interest. As soon as the resources are available, you will immediately be sent a link to sign up to view and download them. Simply complete the form here.

What can I be praying for?

We would love you to stand with us in prayer as we continue to work to find a home for every child who needs one in Wales.

• Give thanks for all who supported our Walk with me campaign!
• Pray for good fruit to come from the upcoming speaking engagements and that more requests for speaking engagements would come.
• Continue to pray that the resources needed would become available for the work in North Wales to flourish.
• Please pray that the support groups currently in place would flourish as more people are supported so that their families flourish.

Check out our prayer resource, Let’s pray, for additional thoughts, inspiration and points to guide your prayers.

Are there any events happening soon that I can attend?

Head over to our Wales page to find out what is happening in the area and find all the local support groups.

Take me there

How do I get in touch with a member of the Home for Good team in Wales?

Neil Davies heads up Home for Good's work in Wales and he would love to hear from you! You can contact him through the button below.

Email Neil