A PAIR of foster carers from Redditch are sharing their story in a bid to inspire others to change the lives of children in need.
Tim and Claire Jarvis from Redditch have been foster carers with Foster Care Associates (FCA) for three years and are hoping to encourage others to take the step which can not only have a huge impact on a child’s life, but offer an exciting and important challenge full of memories.
Tim, aged 38 and Claire, 28, were inspired by Tim’s parents, who are also foster carers.
He said: ‘’I’ve always loved being around kids and feel like I’m a bit of a kid at heart, and this is where the idea to become a foster carer initially stemmed from.
“We’d talked about fostering for a long time because we really wanted to help children in need and we haven’t looked back since.”
The couple started fostering before they were married and have recently welcomed their first birth child into the world, following three years fostering, but plan to continue to work with children in need of care.
“We are so excited to be parents again however this doesn’t change how we feel about being foster carers in the slightest,” he added.
‘’When we open up about being foster carers some people automatically assume people foster because they can’t have children of their own. Although we have become parents, we are still fostering and always will.’’
FCA provides ongoing support to all foster carers including training, a financial allowance and organised family activities.
Call 0800 022 4330 or visit http://www.thefca.co.uk to find out more.
