My story

Viv and I adopted our son over two years ago and he is a joy, but we are aware that not all adoption stories have happy endings. The reality is that children in the care system have challenging needs and prospective parents need all the help and support available.

We are grateful to Adoption UK for the tremendous support that we received after we brought our boy home. I am hoping that my efforts and your generosity will make a positive difference to the lives of other children and their parents as they begin family life together in a secure and loving environment.

Adoption has changed
 
The majority of UK adoptions 40 years ago were babies born outside of marriage and were viewed as helping both unwed mothers and infertile couples.
 
Today, there are very few relinquished babies placed for adoption. Instead, the majority of placements are of older children removed from abusive or neglectful backgrounds.
 
Many of these children have spent months or years in the care system and this, coupled with their difficult and traumatic start to life, often causes attachment, developmental and behavioural difficulties.
 
 
The importance of adoption support
 
Did you know that?
  • 80,000 children are in the UK care system at any one time
  • The average age of a child at adoption is four years
  • 28 per cent of looked-after children have special educational needs
  • 20 per cent of adoptions break down, resulting in children being returned to care
  • 35 per cent of male prisoners under the age of 21 have spent time in care
    •
Adoptive parents therefore often require ongoing, specialist support themselves in order to parent these children in the best possible way and prevent adoptions breaking down.
 
The difference Adoption UK makes to adoptive families’ lives
 
However, the essential specialist support is not always available to families through their local authorities so this is where organisations like Adoption UK are vital.
 
Adoption UK supports adoptive parents as they welcome children into their lives from the care system. We help them to understand their children’s backgrounds and behaviour, as well as how to apply therapeutic parenting skills as a different method of parenting and supporting these children – something which helps adoptions to succeed.
 
Adoption UK does not receive central government funding and so we greatly appreciate money that people donate and raise for us.
Fundraising for Adoption UK is a way of ensuring a stable future for adopted children and their new families.
 
The differences that your donations will make: -
 
£2 provides an adoptive family with a useful Factsheet on a key theme
£5 provides a complimentary copy of Adoption Today magazine to a prospective adoptive parent 
£10 lets an adoptive family access information and support from the dedicated Helpline
£20 buys a new book for the postal lending library
£45 provides an adoptive parent with an individual support session with a Family Support Consultant
£90 enables an adoptive parent to attend a specialised training course
£200 ensures that vital online community message boards stay open 24/7 for one week
£500 allows the running of an open training day for adopters in vital need of support
£1500 gets a support group session up and running
£2500 brings 100 adoptive families, or more, together for a fantastic Family Day

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

My gallery 3

My Teams

My company

My charity

Adoption UK

Adoption UK

Charity Registration No. 326654

Adoption UK is a national charity that has worked with and on behalf of adoptive parents for 40 years. We provide information, training and guidance at all stages of the adoption process and campaign to ensure that adoptive families receive the support and encouragement they need.

Donations 32

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Fantastic achievement, well done. xx

Donation by Vivia Cowdrill on 01/10/12

£26.00

+ £6.50 Gift Aid

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I'm very proud of you. Well done. xx

Donation by Audrey Henry on 26/09/12

£30.00

+ £7.50 Gift Aid

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Well done Thomas!

Donation by Charlie Wenborn on 15/09/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Well done slim Jim - long may it last xx

Donation by Anne Waters on 20/07/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

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Well done!! That'll keep your buttocks toned!

Donation by Rob & Maggie on 19/07/12

£30.00

+ £7.50 Gift Aid

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Well Done Tom You may even see some sun in Paris!!

Donation by Paul MacDonald on 10/07/12

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I understand a tub of Sudocrem would be useful to ake on your trip. Good luck and enjoy

Donation by Neil Igglesden on 02/07/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Donation by Hilary & David Cheffings on 01/07/12

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Great cause Tom - all the best and look forward to hearing all about it when we next see you guys :)

Donation by Hassi & Paul Leverett on 27/06/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Don't forget the vaseline, English to French swear phrase book and hip flask! Take care!

Donation by Mike Allison on 07/06/12

£15.00

+ £3.75 Gift Aid

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Best of luck mate, and don't forget the sun cream or no one will recognise you when you finish and pack a yellow jersey too just in case!

Donation by Rob Beck on 30/05/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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MEN ON BIKES: I prayed every night for a new bike. God doesn't work that way; Tom said it's easier to nick one and pray for forgiveness! VAZ-UP!

Donation by Lamasz Family on 18/05/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Good luck with the bike ride Tom. Viv will be behind you all the way I'm sure - not literally otherwise we'll have to sponsor her too!

Donation by susan ross on 13/05/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

Donation by mike morris on 01/05/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Good Luck chaps........All the very best!

Donation by Rahul Sharma on 27/04/12

£15.00

+ £3.75 Gift Aid

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Pedal pedal pedal, Hope you can have fun doing it :-) xx

Donation by natasha henry on 25/04/12

£21.00

+ £5.25 Gift Aid

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Good luck mate - rather you than me!

Donation by Tony Bragg on 24/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Rosie says "Go Tom go"!

Donation by Martin Thomas on 11/04/12

£15.00

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All the very best. Remember they ride on the wrong side in Paris! Love from Martin & Kate.

Donation by Martin Thomas on 08/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

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An excellent cause Tom. I hope it goes really well for you. We'll celebrate your success in the Black Boy!

Donation by Aaron Ketchlove on 08/04/12

£30.00

+ £7.50 Gift Aid

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Good on yer!

Donation by Richard Edgar on 04/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

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Good luck Tom!

Donation by Chris Ferguson on 01/04/12

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Good Luck Dad! We are incredibly proud of you and what you are doing! Love you very much xxx

Donation by Sophie Cowdrill & Michael O'Mahoney on 01/04/12

£30.00

+ £7.50 Gift Aid

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Fantastic Tom, good luck with the training. Did you know a ripe Camembert is great relief for saddle soreness?!

Donation by The Batelaans on 31/03/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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You may need this cash to buy some vaseline for your bottom after this ride, Big Boy !

Donation by Paul Goodman on 30/03/12

Donation summary

  • * Online donations£962.00
  • Offline donations£2,038.00
  • Text donations£0.00
  • Total raised£3,000.00
  • Gift Aid£220.50

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.