Spring Newsletter – Director’s Update
Hi everyone,
Our focus for much of this year is on our 20-year anniversary celebrations! We are in full-scale planning mode at the moment, with events spread across the year.
Our first event is the conference in May, celebrating our journey to becoming a fully trauma-informed organisation and the trauma-informed practice we have developed. The event is open to foster carers, Tusla, and other organisations we closely collaborate with. To coincide with the conference, we will be launching our new logo and website, so fingers crossed that all goes to plan!
We also have a Poster Competition open to all children to celebrate our 20th anniversary, and we hope to display these at the conference in May.
FFI would not exist without you—our incredible foster carers and your families who support you. We want to make the four regional summer events a true celebration for you and your family. We hope to see as many of you as possible at these events, where we can have fun, chat, and celebrate together. Planning for these events is well advanced, and thank you to everyone involved in organising them.
The final event is our annual Carers’ Party, and we hope it will be a special one. After much deliberation and searching, we have returned to Dublin for this year’s event at the beautiful Fitzpatrick’s Hotel in Killiney—close to the M50 and easily accessible by road, bus, and DART. It is a stunning setting that befits the occasion we are celebrating. FFI is extremely fortunate to have foster carers receiving their 20-year awards this year, along with those celebrating 15, 10, and five years of fostering. It promises to be a special night, so I encourage everyone to book early and mark the date in your diary—this is your night!
In this newsletter, Jess will give an update on how we are recruiting new carers. The demand for placements for children in care is at its highest since I first started working in children and family services. We have relaunched our Refer a Friend scheme to encourage as many people as possible to refer someone from their family, school, work, or social circles to apply.
We now have ten carer groups meeting across the country and one online group. We believe that carer groups are a core part of the support we offer, and we place huge importance on them. Myself, Elaine, Nora, and Taryn will be visiting carer groups over the coming months, and we really want to hear your thoughts and give you the opportunity to ask questions. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at a group near you.
We had a very positive response to our carer survey, which recently closed. We will be circulating the results and are delighted that 88% of respondents are satisfied or very satisfied with FFI. Thank you!
I mean it sincerely when I say I am always delighted to hear from you. Please remember that if there is anything you wish to bring to my attention, do not hesitate to contact me by email at marie.faughey@ffi.ie, call me at 0879790135, or meet me in the Dublin office.
With best wishes,
