Our ambassadors
At Foster with Bury, all of our ambassadors are foster carers themselves, which means they are ideally placed to answer any questions you have about foster care services. If you would like one of our ambassadors to come and talk to your community group or attend an event, please get in touch with our team.
Keith
My name is Keith Atkinson. My wife Helen and I have been fostering for Bury for over 25 years. We became foster carers by accident when, one night, our daughter brought home some stray friends instead of stray animals.
To date we have looked after 29 young people almost all of them teenagers including some unaccompanied asylum seekers. They have stayed with us for varying lengths of time. One for one hour, another for over five years.
We see our role as helping these young people to either return to their families or move on to independence depending on what they want to achieve.
Helen
My name is Helen Atkinson. My husband and I cover Bury Town Centre and arrange a variety of community events to promote Fostering. We really enjoy the Ambassador role as it gives people an opportunity to come and find out more about Fostering from us in an informal way and hear about our experiences. Our events take place at local fetes, Bury library and Nationwide Bank on The Rock.
Kerry
I have been a foster carer for 3 years and fostered 6 children and young people from 0-16 years old. I also have experience of transitioning a baby on to adoption.
Each child has been unique and come with their own different challenges, however as a foster family, we are thoroughly enjoying our fostering journey. Our birth children are much more understanding of the world we live in and have become well rounded, appreciative and more respectful individuals due to their experiences of fostering.
I am also an Ambassador and help promote fostering with Foster with Bury, as I truly believe that our children and young people that come into care should be able to stay local to their area, in order to stay at the same school, maintain relationships and continue to promote their identity.
Lorraine
My husband Ian and I have been fostering for 6 years. We live in Whitefield with our three cats. We foster older children, usually teenagers with complex needs, some of whom have been in main stream education, some who have not. I enjoyed fostering from the minute I started and wish I had done it years ago! Our five adult children all have their own special relationships with the young people we foster and it’s great to see. We are registered to take 2 children 0-18, at the moment we have a 13 year old girl on a solo placement who we have been long term matched with. She’s been with us two years now and is making good progress.
