The City of Wolverhampton Council's Transition team have collected over 300 advent calendars thanks to kind donations. The calendars were distributed to care leavers, and also their children, ahead of the first day of Advent on Sunday.
Meanwhile the team have also been busy collecting donations of Christmas gifts and toys which will be passed on to care leavers who may not have a Christmas gift this year and who are unable to afford to buy presents for their children.
So far, they have collected around 150 presents, including clothing, toiletries, stationery, cosmetics and selection boxes, which will be given out to care leavers before the big day, but they will gratefully receive further donations.
Anybody who would like to donate a new Christmas gift for a care leaver should please drop them off at Priory Green, Whitburn Close, Pendeford (for the attention of Paige Hunter) or the Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton (for the attention of Lisa Turner). The team is particularly after gifts for care leavers but will also gratefully accept items for children as well as donations of wrapping paper, tape and Christmas cards.
The collections are part of Mission Christmas, a campaign by the Transition team to provide Christmas cheer to young care leavers. There will also be a Christmas party on 18 December and a Christmas meal on 28 December, where care leavers will enjoy a festive feast including turkey and all the trimmings thanks to a generous financial donation from the University of Wolverhampton.
Emma Bennett, Director of Children’s Services, said: "Supporting care leavers is a key priority for the council; young people in care have often had a very difficult start to their lives, so it's important that we give them the help they need to make the transition into adulthood.
“We want to ensure this Christmas is a wonderful time of year for our young care leavers and their families and it’s great that colleagues are pulling together in this way. Please support them if you can!”
The council helps hundreds of young people make the move out of care to independent living every year, and those who are about to make, or have recently made, the move will be taking part in a range of activities to highlight their progress.
- The City of Wolverhampton Council's Local Offer for care leavers aged between 16 and 25 provides information about a wide range of services which could help them prepare for adult life. The Local Offer was developed in partnership with care leavers and includes details of support which they are entitled to by law, as well as additional services that the council has been able to secure with the help of partner organisations. For more information, please visit Care Leavers Offer.
