At Coram Voice advocates (like me) work every day with children in care and care leavers; they inspire and motivate us with their resilience, their maturity but most of all with their extraordinary voices. These children and young people have exceptional creative talent not in spite of but because of their experiences.

However it seems that the stories, which make the news about children in care, seem to focus on the negative aspects of the care system. We hear statistics about the poor chances of kids in care getting 5 A-C GCSE’s, or about the high percentage of homeless young people who have been in care. For too many care-experienced persons, being in care is a label that carries a heavy stigma. These children and young people are often reliant on organisations like Coram Voice to raise awareness of the issues they encounter and to challenge the stigma and discrimination they face.

So, to mark Coram Voice’s Fortieth Anniversary and in honour of our founder, Gwen James (07/11/1929 – 21/09/2015), we are launching VOiCES 2016 – Coram Voice’s National Writing Competition – a celebration of the voices of children in and around the care system.

We are asking children and young people to write about who makes them happy, or about what the important people in their life could do to make them happier. 

We aim to promote a positive image of care-experienced young people. We hope to counter negative conceptions by highlighting these young people's achievements and positive stories instead of failings. By hearing and, more importantly, listening to their voices we hope to understand their experiences and how to help make their lives better. 

Your donation will go towards acknowledging these kids who speak up and to making sure their voices are heard.  For every £10 donated I will stay silent for an hour (up to a week!). 

Thank you!

Muna