Foster Walk 2024 supported by Olympian Fatima Whitbread

Last month, up and down the country, hundreds of people put on their trainers and stepped outside to raise awareness of foster care for our 11th annual Foster Walk, including Olympic legend Fatima Whitbread. Each year we run the sponsored walk during Foster Care Fortnight, encouraging people to create teams and take part in their own communities, and we’re always overwhelmed by the response. 

This year was no different, with people taking part across different countries and different terrains, from beaches and parks to mountains and woodlands. To tie the walk in with the Foster Care Fortnight theme, those taking part were encouraged to talk about the key #FosteringMoments that had impacted their fostering journeys.  

We saw some groups go the extra mile during their Foster Walk – Five Rivers Fostering almost walked six miles from Sandbanks to Bournemouth Pier and back to achieve combined number of 70,000 steps – a step for each child fostered in the UK. Beacon Fostering teamed up to walk 70km across Foster Care Fortnight, while North Lincolnshire Council hosted a Twilight Foster Walk and parkrun takeover. It was also fantastic to see our corporate partners Chief Nation get involved in our London event and raise more than £1,000 for fostering families.  

We were incredibly lucky to be joined by Olympic javelin thrower Fatima in our Foster Walks in Derry/Londonderry, Cardiff and London. Fatima spent her childhood in children’s homes, before she was adopted by her javelin coach, Maragaret Whitbread. Fatima is a huge advocate for children and young people in care and is now calling for change across the care system through Fatima’s UK Campaign. You can find out more here.  

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in Foster Walk and helped raise awareness of the 70,000 children in foster care. We’re already so excited for next year.