A pair of popular actors will be volunteering in a Frome charity shop to encourage people to support an important new campaign.
Mark and Joe McGann will be at the Barnardo’s store in Kingsway precinct on Tuesday February 1st from 11.30am-1.30pm. They will join staff promoting the charity’s new South West Fostering and Adoption Service, inviting people to open their doors to those in need of a loving, caring and stable home.
Mark, who starred in TV series ‘The Grand’ and the movie ‘Shackleton’, will be at an information stand with his wife Caroline.
Joe, who starred in sitcom ‘The Upper Hand’, will be volunteering behind the till.
Together, they hope to raise awareness of the desperate need for more carers of all backgrounds.
Barnardo’s children’s services development manager Sal Steeple said, “We are delighted to receive such generous support from Mark, Caroline and Joe, and we hope their involvement will encourage even more interest in our new service.
“Sadly not everyone has an equal start in life, especially when their own parents have been unable to support them for whatever reason.
“We will try to find loving homes for children of all backgrounds, but there is a particular need for those who wait the longest to find permanent families. These ‘hard to place’ children include brothers and sisters, older children, children from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and children with disabilities.
“Some people worry about what type of children might be matched with them, but we help to identify the child best suited to their own family. Others only want to offer short spells of care, but there is a high demand for this as well and it might only involve a few weekends a year.
“Whatever people choose, we offer continued support and training throughout the process and for as long as it is needed afterwards.
“It might be challenging at times, but it is definitely hugely rewarding work. People have a genuine chance to transform a child’s life.”
Mark said, “The importance and far-reaching benefits of the work of Barnardo’s in first caring for, and then finding a suitable foster family for children and young people in the UK, cannot be underestimated or understated.
“No other children’s charity in my opinion goes quite so far to fulfil its promises, especially in transforming lives and helping vulnerable young people to realise their hidden potential.
“In recent years I have increasingly chosen to use my acquired skills as a professional actor of 30 years to work with children in a similar attempt to positively aid personal development.
“I increasingly find myself citing the legacy of Thomas Barnardo as a great example of what can be lastingly achieved with human compassion, collective responsibility and dedication.”
For more information on the Barnardo’s South West Fostering & Adoption Service, visit www.barnardos.org.uk/fosteringandadoption or call 0117 937 5500.
