The award gives the charity the chance to invest in its future with ten months of strategic planning support from a dedicated team of four business experts, thanks to pro bono charity Pilotlight and a core grant of £6,500 from the Garfield Weston Foundation.
Adoption Matters was chosen from over 100 applicants, all of whom are frontline charities delivering youth, welfare or community services in the North of England, the Midlands and Wales.
Carolyn Johnson, Adoption Matters Board of Trustees Chair and Susy White, Adoption Matters Chief Executive commented:
“Adoption Matters is honoured to be selected as a Weston Charity Award Winner and to be working with the prestigious Pilotlight project. We cannot wait to start working with the organisations and harnessing their expertise to help develop and enhance our services. With their support we aim to begin a programme of ambitious, innovative and dynamic change that will ensure we continue to deliver the very best in adoption services.
In addition, the generous grant will enable us to enhance the support service we already provide to the most vulnerable children and families with whom we work, in particular to establish a unique “My Inner World” project supporting teens and young adults who are adopted by equipping them with strategies and techniques to deal with difficult emotions resulting from early trauma and loss, and in doing so, reducing the need for crisis interventions. We are so grateful to be selected for this amazing opportunity.”
In congratulating Adoption Matters, Philippa Charles, Director of the Garfield Weston Foundation said:
“The Weston Charity Awards were created in 2014, and have since helped 126 charities across Wales, the North and the Midlands to be effective and to grow their services for people in need. As the cost of living crisis hits families and communities, we see a critical role for small charities in key regions who are supporting vulnerable people in a range of ways. These Awards for nineteen charities are a tribute to their determination to improve lives in the toughest of circumstances.”
Ed Mayo, Chief Executive of Pilotlight, the charity which is connecting Adoption Matters with a team of coaches drawn from a range of businesses and other organisations said:
“An old saying is that the poor pay more. So, while the rising cost of living is a crisis for many people, it is a potential catastrophe for those who are most vulnerable. Adoption Matters has been selected as a Weston Charity Award recipient on the strength of its ambitions and the openness of the leadership team to external perspectives. Working with business experts, the Weston Charity Awards will strengthen Adoption Matters to support people who are most at need in our society.”
For more information about Adoption Matters visit: www.adoptionmatters.org