Fostering Hampshire Children’s winter 2021 campaign to find new foster carers has received a gold award in the ‘Public Sector Campaign’ category at this year’s PRide awards for the South of England and Channel Islands.
The ‘You Can Foster’ campaign went up against three other shortlisted campaigns at last night’s awards ceremony (13 October 2022), held annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).
Councillor Roz Chadd, Deputy Leader of Hampshire County Council and Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services, said: “Congratulations to Fostering Hampshire Children on this well-deserved accolade, which is testament to their continued hard work to find caring and nurturing individuals and families to care for some of our county’s most vulnerable children and young people.
“We always need more foster carers and campaigns like this are hugely important in driving awareness and encouraging more people to come forward. Since a great deal of this work takes place behind the scenes, it is heartening to see the team recognised and rewarded in this way. Once again, congratulations and thank you!”
Created entirely in-house by Fostering Hampshire Children and the County Council’s marketing team, the ‘You Can Foster’ campaign was credited with achieving a 300 per cent increase in enquiries about fostering in Hampshire, at a time of year when enquiries are typically lower. With its charming animation and informative approach, the campaign tells the heartfelt story of a child discovering their foster family over the winter period.
The news of the campaign’s success follows a recent nomination at the Purpose awards and comes alongside the launch of another large-scale campaign, shining a light on the ongoing need for foster carers. With the number of children in care having risen since 2018, the Fostering team’s work to find more foster carers continues in earnest and the new #OpenYourDoor campaign aims to find 150 new fostering households by the end of 2023.
Hampshire residents who wish to find out more about fostering with the County Council should visit hants.gov.uk/fostering for a wealth of resources, information and details of dedicated online events.
