People can give a gift to a care leaver this Christmas

Sam Heathcote, who works at Wiltshire Council organised gift vouchers for care leavers last year and for this Christmas has taken up the mission again to provide all those who have been in care and are now making their way independently to have a special gift for the festive season.

Sam explained: "Being a care experienced young person at Christmas can be an isolating time magnified even further by the pandemic. As an authority we wanted to help spread some festive cheer from the community to our young people. We currently have 309 young people who are care experienced open to our service and we would love to invite the wider community to gift a card to those who might receive limited gifts or cards at this time of year."

People can donate a gift by accessing Amazon (Children in Care Team list) to buy a card and from the list click for the card to be delivered to the Children in Care Team at Monkton Park. Once delivered they will be distributed to care leavers across the county.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Children's Services said: "We have a strong commitment to our care leavers including a promise to support them and help with every day living as they become adults and make their way in the world. This great idea by Sam is a really thoughtful way to ensure our care leavers have a gift this Christmas and I want to thank her for her great efforts to achieve this."