FtSE Member News: The Foster Care Co-operative - Outstanding Contribution to Foster Care Award

Tina Maksimovic from one of our Foster Carers in Wales was awarded an Outstanding Contribution to Foster Care Award by leading charity The Fostering Network in recognition of her important role in fostering.


The charity’s inaugural Fostering Excellence Awards have recognised and celebrated excellence and outstanding achievement in foster care, honoured the achievements of young care leavers and acknowledged the valuable contribution that sons and daughters make to the fostering household.

The Fostering Excellence Awards were not created or intended as a competitive exercise designed to choose one fine example of an outstanding contribution over another but rather as a celebration of all that is great, good and indeed excellent about fostering and everyone involved in making any fostering placement a success.

Tina and her partner Rob have 6 children between them, and 11 grandchildren.  Over the last 3 years they have been looking after a sibling group, currently aged 8, 9 and 11 and recently she has also accepted another child into their family on a special guardianship order, aged 4.

Not only does Tina donate her time to children, she also is a very active runner with her daughter Donna, who is also a Schedule 3 Foster Carer.  They don’t pick the easy options either; some of the events completed are Tough Mudder, Rat Race a 20 mile course with 200 obstacles, Survival of the Fittest, and Dirty Dozen in the elite wave.  Raising money along the way for Heart Research UK, Men’s Health, War Heroes, Action Medical Research and Barnardo’s.

Tina also goes above and beyond for The Foster Care Co-operative too, giving countless hours joining us at support group sessions, recruitment events, encouraging others to become foster carers, and is always the first one to sign up to any events we arrange.  

On top of this Tina also cares for her elderly mother making regular visits, often daily.  Also, for the last 10 years on Christmas Day, she has taken dinners to 3 vulnerable adults who would have gone without otherwise. 

However it’s not as easy as it looks on paper, Tina admits herself at times it is difficult but she is completely motivated by her vocation, and her thoughts are always about the children and giving them as much love and support as she possibly can.  She also highly credits her partner Rob, they work seamlessly together, and without his support she wouldn’t be able to do any of it.

Ian Brazier, Executive Director of The Foster Care Co-operative said, “I was absolutely thrilled to hear that this had been awarded.  The hard work that all of our professional Foster Carers do is often underestimated.  The Foster Care Co-operative has a tremendous community of dedicated Foster Carers and a fantastic staffing team, which is clearly reflected in this award.  Outstanding Contribution to Foster Care is a fantastic achievement, I am extremely pleased and proud of Tina and Rob.  Congratulations!" 

Jim Bond, president of The Fostering Network, said: “Fostering is about providing a home for children who can’t live with their own family. This takes exceptional human beings who have empathy, understanding, love and the skills needed to support a child.  Foster carers are truly unsung heroes within our society. The devote their lives to making sure children and young people can have real futures, fulfil their potential and grow up to lead happy and rounded lives.”

You can find out more about the awards and the winners on The Fostering Network websitehttps://www.fostering.net/support-us/fostering-excellence-awards.  The Fostering Network is the UK’s leading fostering charity. By working with foster families, and the services that support them, we help all children and young people who are fostered to achieve the very best they can.

Source:
http://www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk/fostering-with-us/news-and-events/outstanding-contribution-to-foster-care-award/

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