Believe: Swansea offers life-changing opportunities to young care leavers.
Believe is a celebration of the achievements of young care leavers from Swansea, providing life-changing opportunities to successful applicants. We’re delighted to announce that the amazing opportunities on offer have now been granted.
‘I’m looking forward to making some memories’
Applications were open throughout January 2023 to care leavers in the Swansea area aged 18-25. Recipients of the opportunities were chosen based on the description they gave of what difference the opportunity would make to them. One young person, who received the opportunity to go on holiday through the project, said:
‘I’m so excited for this opportunity as I never thought that I would get the chance to go away on holiday. I’ve never travelled on my own before so I’m really looking forward to making some memories and enjoying a much-needed break. I am hoping this will open up many doors for me and give me a fresh perspective as I’ve had a difficult few years. I’m really looking forward to exploring the beach and seeing the castle and most of all spending some quality time with my loved ones.’
The team behind Believe: Swansea includes members of the Practice Solutions team, Barnardo’s Cymru and young care leavers, Courtney and Darran. The project was co-produced through a series of workshops to ensure that the opportunities on offer opened doors for positive change, such as: supporting individuals to take the lead in making decisions about their lives, offering insight into their potential and celebrating personal achievements.
‘Helping young care leavers grow in confidence’
Sarah Day, our Chief Executive, worked closely on the project and said:
It has been a privilege to collaborate with young care leavers and Barnardo’s Cymru on Believe: Swansea. This innovative project has offered us an opportunity to help young care leavers grow in confidence and step forward to create new possibilities for the future. I am grateful to all the businesses who supported the project, and I have no doubt that the benefits for the recipients will continue to unfold.’
We hope to co-produce a celebration event for the recipients in the coming months, so look out for more updates to come.
We would like to thank the project sponsors for their generous support: West Wales Holiday Cottages, Mazuma, Stable IT, University of Wales Trinity St David, Digital Parenting Magazine and Vodafone UK.