15/07/2025
Are any of our listeners going on holiday this year? Any not going?
Whether or not you're going on holiday this year, this is the time that we usually either buy a new suitcase or throw out the old ones. Instead of getting rid of your old cases/backpacks/holdalls, I'd like to suggest something different.
In the UK, approximately 39,053 children and young people enter the care system each year. This equates to about 107 children per day. Due to circumstances beyond the child's control, they are usually taken from their homes at very short notice, with very little time to pack. On most occasions, children enter the care system with their belongings in carrier bags, or even just with the clothes on their backs.
I want to ask people, if you are getting rid of your old cases/backpacks/holdalls this year, to consider donating them to your local Children's Services (Social Services for Children) department within your Local Authority. Sometimes these departments go by other names. That way, when social services take a child into care, they can take a suitcase with them, and the child can take as many of their belongings as possible and arrive at a care home with some dignity.
Thank you. Oh, and please share the heck out of this.
