Children in care's artwork to be displayed

Liverpool City Region chosen to pilot fund to drive innovation.

CHILDREN in care who entered an art competition earlier this year are getting ready to see professional recreations of their work. The Stand By Me art competition, organised by Liverpool City Council's Fostering Service, asked children and young people to create artworks showing the people in their lives who stand by them. Now local artist Ali Harwood has transformed these original works into 2 large canvases.

The young artists along with their foster carers and other guests will be attending Liverpool Parish Church, on:- Wednesday, 28 September 2022, where they will see their original works displayed alongside the professional recreations.

The artworks will be displayed in Our Lady and St Nicholas until 5 October 2022, and will then tour other venues in the City.

Whilst 3 winning artworks were selected in June by Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson, with their creators being rewarded with vouchers, elements of all the entries received in the competition have been incorporated into the canvases.

The event is not only a chance to celebrate the children's achievements, but is also an opportunity for people to find out how to transform children's lives by becoming foster carers.

Members of the public are welcome to come along to St Nicks to hear a panel discussion about fostering and speak to members of Liverpool's Fostering Service to find out more about coming a carer. Businesses and other organisations and groups can also come along to find out more about how to become fostering friendly.

Members of the public and businesses wishing to attend should register in advance on the Fostering Liverpool website.

Cllr Frazer Lake, Cabinet Member for Children's Social Care, said:- "The artwork we received in the Stand By Me competition reflects how valuable relationships are to our children and young people who are in care; not least the bond they form with a foster carer. It will be a real honour to see their artwork and the young artists should feel very proud of what they have created. The role of foster carer is a very special 1 and has the power to transform children's lives. If you are interested in hearing more about fostering, please come along on 28 September 2022 to meet the team and to hear from our panel of experts."

Artist Ali Harwood said:- "Children and young people created mountains of fantastic art for the Stand By Me project. Their drawings and paintings show the people who help them to flourish in their lives; from their foster parents to their teachers, from their siblings to other children around them. As an artist, it has been a real pleasure to bring their colourful and inspiring images together across 2 canvases and I'm looking forward to the final artwork being shared with the people of this welcoming City. I hope more adults from a wide variety of backgrounds will feel they can foster with Liverpool after seeing what a positive difference they can make to a young person's future and the vibrancy and adventure each looked after child can bring to theirs."

Green Bin Collections in North Sefton Update

ON 26 September 2022, Sefton Council told us that they are asking residents in North Sefton who have been affected by the recent Bank Holiday green bin collection disruptions to continue to leave their bins out for collection.

In a statement emailed to us, it said:- "The Local Authority's Waste Management teams are working hard to collect any outstanding green waste bins, following the Bank Holiday for the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Residents in Southport, Birkdale, Hillside and Ainsdale may find their green bins have yet to be emptied. A small number of properties in the Harrington and Ravenmeols wards of Formby, as well as Hightown and Ince Blundell, have also been impacted by this disruption. Households affected are being asked to leave their green bins out for collection, with crews aiming to clear the backlog by Saturday evening, 1 October 2022."

A spokesperson for Sefton Council said:- "We apologise for the disruption and inconvenience this may cause to those with outstanding collections and we are aiming to clear this temporary backlog as swiftly as possible. Please continue to leave your green bin out for collection. There is no need to contact Sefton Council at this time."

Southport fundraisers host afternoon tea in support of North West Cancer Research

A group of fundraisers from Southport recently hosted an afternoon tea and raised almost £2,000 for North West Cancer Research. North West Cancer is an independent charity dedicated to putting the Region's cancer needs 1st by funding life-saving research and education to tackle the cause, improve the care and find the cure for cancer. Over 190 ladies attended the popular event, which was held at Hillside Golf Club, Southport. After enjoying their afternoon tea, the ladies enjoyed a performance by local musician, Jenny Wren, who made sure that everyone took to the dance floor to join in with her performance.

Chair of the Committee, Olive Cutts, said:- "We're proud to be a thriving committee, dedicated to raising vital funds for research into all forms of cancer here in the North West. It was brilliant to see so many people come together at the event and being able to enjoy these types of events that we love so much, as well as raise a lot of money for such a good cause. It's great to finally be getting back to normal after the Pandemic. We're looking forward to hosting a mince pie and coffee morning near Christmas time, which will include several stalls selling homemade cakes and lots more."

Alastair Richards, CEO of North West Cancer Research said:- "It's absolutely fantastic to see the community doing their bit for cancer research. The event looked like everyone had a great time raising money and it is really nice that communities are able to connect like this again. We're so grateful to the Southport Fundraising Committee for their ongoing support, and everyone that attended the afternoon or donated money. What a success!"