News & Events

On any given night, one in every 100 children across New South Wales is living in foster care. For many of these children foster care is the best option, although sadly it is not always available. The 'Open Your Heart' campaign was officially launched by the Minister For Family & Community Services and Minister for Women, the Hon. Pru Goward MP and Andrew McCallum AM the Chief Executive Officer of The Association of Children's Welfare Agencies (ACWA) on 30 May at Parliament House in Sydney.

UnitingCare Burnside will join forces with a number of foster care agencies across the state and The Association of Children's Welfare Agencies (ACWA) as part of the "Open Your Hearts" campaign to recruit new foster carers and raise awareness of the increasing demand.

Burnside foster carer Donna-Maree was joined by Alison Page, a working mother of two and a descendant of the Walbanga and Wadi Wadi people of the Yuin nation to answer questions on modern motherhood in an ABC Mid-North Coast live forum celebrating Mother's Day.

After grandparents Donna-Maree and her husband Stephen's eight children grew up and left the family home, they didn't know what to do with themselves. They felt they could do something special with their new found freedom and decided to become Burnside foster carers.

As part of a Mother's Day feature story on 9 May local newspaper, the Parramatta Sun shone the spotlight on the amazing efforts of Deb, a Burnside foster carer. Over 18 months ago, she made the incredible decision to become a foster carer and this Sunday will celebrate her second Mother's Day with her two children, Amelia and Xavier.