Northern Ireland Kinship Care Keeping families together ISSUE 13 March - April 2016 In This Issue DERRY CREDIT UNION AWARDS FLAG DAY KUDDLES LAUNCHES NEW STORYBOOK FABLAB PROJECT EASTER CELEBRATION PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME GROW WILD PROGRAMME YOUTH CHAMPIONS GET WET DJ PROGRAMME HEROBOOK WORKSHOP CMAC ACADEMY KIN TOGETHER GROUP CARRICKFERGUS MOOD METTERS TRAINING COFFEE MORNING PORTSTEWART KREATIVE KINS MEET FAMOUS AUTHORS KINNECTIONS SUCCESS KIDS N KINSHIP SHOP NEW SUPPORT GROUP IN BELFAST THANK YOU UPCOMING EVENTS Derry Credit Union Awards Massive congratulations to all our young people who were nominated and shortlisted for 5 awards. Young people came highly commended in a number of categories including Business and Entrepreneurship, Contribution to Art, Courage and Leadership. Young people were delighted at receiving certificates and had a great evening. Thank you to everyone at the Derry Credit Union Young People s Awards for a fantastic night and for making young people feel extremely special. Flag Day Raises 693.63 Huge THANK YOU to all our volunteers and members of the public for coming out and supporting our work with children and young people in kinship care. Thanks to you we raised 693.63! ARE YOU A GRANDPARENT RAISING YOUR GRANDCHILDREN? Kinship Care NI run KIN TOGETHER Support Groups for kinship carers in Derry/Londonderry, Belfast, Larne, Cookstown, Draperstown, Magherafelt and Antrim. For more information contact us free on 0800 022 3129
Kuddles Launches New Storybook Kuddles our Kinship Care Bear officially launched his new story book Kuddles Goes to Live With His Granny. The storybook, written by children in kinship care was launched across all five Health and Social Care Trusts and is now available in 121 libraries across Northern Ireland. An audio version told by two children in kinship care, is also available. Thank you to everyone for coming along and supporting Kuddles and his new storybook. To find out more, or to receive a copy of the storybook, contact Leann 028 71373731. Belfast Trust Northern Trust South Eastern Trust Southern Trust Western Trust FabLab Project Young people got in touch with their creative side by using technology to design and create keyrings, photo frames and lanterns as part of a fantastic programme run by the FabLab project. A massive thank you to the wonderful team over at FabLab for helping young people create some fantastic pieces. To find out more about the FabLab Project contact Roisin on 028 71373731.
CELEBRATIONS Personal Development Programme Grow Wild Programme
Youth Champions Get Wet Young people spent the day team building and getting involved in water activities at Creggan Country Park. Young people worked together to complete various challenges and everyone got soaked! For more information on our Youth Champions Project, contact Roisin on 028 71373731. DJ Programme Young people enjoyed the opportunity to learn new skills at our DJ Workshops. They had great fun as they mixed tracks and performed songs in front of each other. For more information on our DJ Programme contact Roisin on 028 71373731. Herobook Workshop Sibling carers and their younger brothers and sisters worked together to develop their own hero books. This was a great opportunity for siblings to spend special time together and learn from each other their hopes and aspirations for the future. For more information on the programmes offered to siblings contact Leann on 028 71373731. CMAC Academy Children from Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey completed a 6 week CMAC Academy Drama Programme. Children had a fantastic time and put on a great performance for their carers. To find out more about CMAC Academy contact Emma on 028 79301566.
Kin Together Group Carrickfergus Mood Matters Training Coffee Morning Portstewart Kinship carers from Carrickfergus came together for a relaxing evening. They enjoyed some dinner and there was plenty of laughter. An enjoyable evening was had by all. Huge thank you to Aware for delivering Mood Matters training to kinship carers in Magherafelt. Carers received valuable information and had an opportunity to meet other carers from their area. Carers from Coleraine and Portstewart attended a coffee morning to raise awareness of kinship care. Thank you to Shenanigans for putting on a wonderful breakfast. Kreative Kins Meet Famous Author A big thank you to the staff from Reading Rooms for giving young people in kinship care the opportunity to meet the Children s Laureate Chris Riddell on his tour. Children attended an interactive workshop which encouraged them to doodle everyday! CONTACT KINSHIP CARE NI BELFAST DERRY / L DERRY BALLYMENA, NEWTOWNABBEY AND CARRICKFERGUS MAGHERAFELT, ANTRIM, COOKSTOWN AND DRAPERSTOWN Emma Gault Tel: 028 79301566 Leann Harris Tel: 028 71373731 Emma Gault Tel: 028 79301566 Charlene Tennyson Tel: 028 94488202
Kinnections Succes s Kids n Kinship Shop Raises 5,230.49 Our Kids n Kinship Shop has raised 5,230.49 since November 2015. Thank you everyone for donating to the shop and we look forward to your continued support. Our Kinnections Small Grants Programme has enjoyed considerable success to date. In the last 11 months we have distributed grants to 122 children, making a huge difference to children in kinship care. For more information on the Kinnections Project contact Emma on 028 79301566. Forthcoming Events New Support Group in Belfast A new monthly Kin Together Support Group is up and running in Belfast. For more information, contact Emma on 02879301566. For more information on forthcoming events visit kinshipcareni.com/events/ Thank You We would like to thank everyone for supporting our work with kinship carers and their children. We would especially like to thank Buttle UK, Allstate NI, the Derry Journal, CMAC Academy, Start360 and the Thinking Cup and Book Reserve. Thanks also to the Derry Credit Union, the Nerve Centre, Social Enterprise NI, Belfast Telegraph, Londonderry Sentinel, Find Insurance NI, Creggan Country Park, the Playtrail, Radio Ulster and Angela and Rachel at Reading Rooms. We would also like to thank the North West Community Network, Alley Kat Design, Emain Publications, Aware, Kip McGrath, Amplify NI and Conal McGarrity Duffy Solicitors. Special thanks also to authors Dan Freedman and Chris Riddell, Donal Quinn from the London School of Journalism, Dr Katrina Collins, Rita Langhirt, Jean Dunn, Eamon Durey and the Orsi Family. Personal Development Programme 9th May 2016 Sibling Family Day 4th May 2016 Information Stand Ballymena 14th May 2016 Youth Champions Group 13th May 2016 Youth Champions DJ Workshop 18th May 2016 Design + Print Alley Kat Design www.alleykatdesign.com KINSHIP CARE NI 67 Carlisle Road, Derry/L Derry BT48 6JL www.kinshipcareni.com Head Office: 028 71373731 Helpline: 0800 022 3129 Email: info@kinshipcareni.com facebook.com/kinshipcareni twitter.com/kinshipni Kinship Care Northern Ireland is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, No. NIC101036 and a Company Limited by Guarantee, No. NI602969