11.05.22
Two of Cardiff’s most iconic buildings will be ablaze with colour this month to celebrate the city’s role in Foster Care Fortnight.

The walls of the Castle and the dramatic façade of City Hall will both glow purple – the colour of the service in Cardiff – at night over the course of the fortnight, from Monday, May 9 to Sunday, May 22.

The campaign, established in 1997, is a chance to highlight the work done by foster carers and fostering professionals in helping find loving homes for young people when they need it most. This year, it takes the theme of ‘fostering communities’.

The Fostering Network, which organises the fortnight, will use the event to shine a light on the many ways people across the fostering community support each other.

In Cardiff, the council’s team of social workers who specialise in foster care have organised two drop-in events: the first at the Cardiff Central Library Hub on Tuesday, May 17 between 10.30am and 2pm, and then at the Tesco Extra store at Excelsior Road on Wednesday, May 18, between 1pm and 4pm. This will promote their work and encourage local people to join the thousands of new foster families who are needed every year to care for children.

The events will give anyone interested in fostering a chance to talk to the team about how to make a real difference to a child’s life. “Whether you’re keen to become involved in fostering, or if you’re already a foster carer and are interested in transferring to the council, or if you just need some information, we’re ready to talk to you,” said a council spokesperson.

“The greatest need is for foster carers who can support older children, sibling groups, children with disabilities and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

"And when people decide to join Foster Wales Cardiff, they can be confident that they will have access to first-class support networks, varied opportunities and training and a very generous rewards package. For example, our enhanced offer means that the minimum amount a carer could receive fostering one child is equivalent to a £25,000 salary.”

While fostering can mean caring for a child long-term, many foster families help with short breaks and offer respite care. And foster carers in Cardiff are as diverse as the city itself – married, living with a partner, single, from the LGBT+ community, disabled and from many different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Foster Wales Cardiff offers a range of generous rewards and benefits to ensure foster carers are supported, financially, professionally and emotionally. For more information on the service visit Fostering in Cardiff | Foster Wales Cardiff (gov.wales) or call 029 2087 3797.