Foster carers celebrated at long service awards

The Skorzewski family with the Mayor of Rochdale

Nineteen families from across the borough who have devoted 185 years to fostering children were celebrated at the council’s annual long service awards.

The event saw 10 families celebrated for 5 years’ service, four for 10 years, two for 15 years, two for 20 years and one for a staggering 25 years.

Councillor Kieran Heakin, cabinet member for children’s services, paid special thanks to the dedicated work of foster carers: “What an amazing achievement for our carers. Being a foster carer is a vital role, we are so grateful for their dedication and we work hard to support them and thank them for their commitment. They have all brought so much happiness and hope to our children and young people.”

They were given their awards by the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Mohammed Zaman, at the celebration event at Littleborough Coaching House.

The event was a fun-filled party occasion for all the family with lots of activities for children and a chance to meet other foster carers before the awards were given out.

Tracey Johnson, fostering recruitment manager at Rochdale Borough Council, gave her thanks to all the borough’s carers, she said: “We always look forward to this event. We want to recognise the hard work and dedication of our foster carers. We always need more people to step forward to be foster carers, but to see the length of time many are dedicating to it shows how rewarding the role is and how much people get out of it.”

If you would like to become a foster carer, the council would love to hear from you. You can call our team on 0300 303 1000 or email enquiries@fosteringforrochdale.co.uk