Date for your diary
Luen Thompson
Recently retired CEO, hospice sector. Trustee Freshwater Habitats Trust. Reginal Advisory Group member National Trust. Volunteering around conservation, natural world and climate change issues.
If you work with children and young people in any capacity, you will be working with young carers, whether you know it or not. There are 2 young carers in every classroom across the UK, so that means 1 in every 12 children are caring for someone at home who could not cope without that support. And it’s not just girls who provide care, and it’s not just older children who provide care. Sad though it is, in our country there are children as young as 5 who are handling medication, doing nursing tasks, completing chores intended for adults, looking after siblings and providing emotional support to a family member. And all this effort has an impact.
So we want Young Carers Awareness Day (or YCAD) 2017 to be a day where everyone recognises the challenges that young carers face. If you work with children and young people, then look out for YCAD on 26/1/2017 and get involved. It's a key date for your diary!
Carers Trust want people to understand how difficult it can be for young carers to realise their hopes and dreams for the future unless they have the right support in place.
This year's theme is 'When I grow up' and it's all about helping young carers to achieve their aspirations, and we want everyone to be a part of it.
We'll be highlighting how the 700,000 young carers across the UK are caring for family members and how it is impacting their lives and their chances of reaching their full potential. To find out more, just click on one of the links below.
- Social media and fundraising
- Fill in our form to get When I grow up posters
- Free downloadable materials
There are various ways you can be part of YCAD 2017. We'll be announcing more in the coming weeks and on the day itself, so keep an eye out via www.carers.org but for now here's some things to get you started:
Share what you're doing on social media using the hashtag #YoungCarersAwarenessDay or tweet using @CarersTrust or post on Carers Trust Facebook page. You could also text YCAD17 ￡3 to 70070 to donate.
Whatever you do, thank you.
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