This has been a busy summer for Adoption UK with a range of events taking place all over the country – from forest school in Scotland to BBQs in Northern Ireland; from family days in Wales to a summer camp in Hertfordshire.  

We were delighted to receive 150 free tickets to Chessington World of Adventures from Merlin’s Magic Wand this year, which we used for a family day in August. While I didn’t actually go on a ride, we had a lovely day meeting with lots of our members and seeing the happy faces of the children (and adults!) enjoying their day in the sunshine.  

Before that, our first Adoption UK summer camp was a roaring success. I had a great afternoon at the camp while everyone arrived before running off to pack for a week’s holiday. I know everyone enjoyed the smores, slime making, sports, disco and LEGO and lots of other activities across the course of the weekend. The families are all staying in touch and looking forward to joining other events soon. One family had come all the way from Wales – and for them and for many others this was their first ever Adoption UK event.  

We have been holding a series of events across Wales this summer, and I was able to join a fun day in beautiful parklands near Newport. Families with toddlers and older children enjoyed the playground, a picnic lunch, nature hunts and a bubble party. These events have helped reinforce for me the importance of the first strand of our work – ‘We connect people’. It was great to see first-hand how joining an event like this could have such a big impact on a family and also be an easy route into the wider support we can offer. I’m looking forward to our residential weekend in Scotland as well as meeting with our youth group and a family event in Northern Ireland this autumn, as these events are a great chance for me to meet with our members, staff and volunteers to find out how we can build on the support we offer our members across the UK. 

I am also very keen for us to deliver more face-to-face events for adult adoptees and we are in the process of recruiting an Adoptee Community Development Officer to help us do just that, so watch this space.