Read some team updates, learn 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 Yorkshire and the North East! 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. 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.

It was brilliant to be at Greenbelt Festival this year over the August bank holiday weekend, where we were joined by over 11,000 others to be inspired, challenged and encouraged around faith, arts and justice. We had a busy space in the Greenbelt Takeaway; where nearly 200 new people signed up to our Home for Good Digest (which, by the way, you can sign up to here if you’re not already subscribed to receive news, updates and points for prayer!). If you’re reading this as one of our newest friends made at Greenbelt, welcome! We’re so glad you’re here. Our primary ask at Greenbelt was to invite people to contact their MP, asking them to prioritise teenagers in care. We collected 244 postcards to send to MPs, representing constituencies all over the UK, demonstrating really clearly and loudly that this is something the Church wants to see addressed. We hosted a solidarity session at the festival, as well as a drinks reception, both of which were well-attended, and we had the exciting opportunity to join David and Carrie Grant for their session in the Pagoda venue where they discussed their new book and engaged in discussion around family. Amazingly, we left Greenbelt with eight new supported lodgings enquiries, as well as seven for fostering and one for adoption – how encouraging to think of the impact this will have on children and teenagers in care.

Sadly, we need to share with you that after deep consideration Laura is stepping down from her role as Lead in the region for health reasons. She is deeply disappointed and was very much looking forward to developing existing and forging new relationships across the region. Clare will step back into this role and we will very soon be updating you on our next steps. Please be assured that Yorkshire and the North East is very important to us and we ask you to pray for us to be wise in our decisions.

We continue to work with extremely well regarded agency, Adoption Matters, for adoption referrals and Young People at heart, an excellent not for profit fostering agency with a specific focus on Hull, Doncaster, York and across the East Riding of Yorkshire. Leeds Council have recommissioned us to work with them to raise up enquiries from across the churches in the city – and we’d love to connect with more churches in Leeds! 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.

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 Yorkshire and the North East.

• Give thanks for all who supported our Walk with me campaign!
• Give thanks for our amazing volunteers who support enquirers and enable peer to peer support groups.
• Pray for children’s social workers across the north East, particularly those working for Adoption Matters, Young People at Heart and Leeds Council.
• Please pray that our Christmas resources will be a blessing to churches this year.

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 Yorkshire and North East England page to find out what is happening in the area and find all the local support groups.