Thirty foster carers and their children from community-based not-for-profit service Althea Projects had a special place at the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys game against the Manly Sea Eagles on Monday night.
With the support of 4TOFM, the Cowboys Field of Dreams program gave this special group the chance for a night out together and to support their favourite team.
"Our mission is to support and strengthen families so children and young people can reach their full potential,” Althea Projects CEO Mandy Thompson said.
“Sadly, there are too many Queensland kids who can’t live at home because it's not safe for them to do so.
"To paint a picture, 9269 children were subject to protective court orders during 2014-15. Of those, 8812 were also placed in out-of-home care. These are the children that we place with our foster carers through our Shared Family Care program, in which we recruit, train and support foster carers in the Townsville, Burdekin and Charters Towers regions.
“Fostering is a challenging and rewarding way to contribute to the community and our program is there to assist foster carers to navigate these challenges and provide the highest standard of care and love that abused children need.
“Cowboys Field of Dreams is a fantastic initiative and the generosity of 4TOFM in providing game tickets meant that these kids and their carers were able to relax and spend some extra social time together.”
Each game day, a Field of Dreams partner donates 30 home game tickets to a local charity in recognition of their valuable contributions to our local community.
Since it started, the program has given over 2,500 special individuals the opportunity to attend a Cowboys game to watch their heroes live in action at 1300SMILES Stadium.
Established in 1974 and formally known as Wee Care Family Incorporated, Althea Projects also provides 24 hour, 7 days a week emergency accommodation for children up to and including 11 years of age, as well as support for families in financial stress.
For more information on Althea Projects:
Call 07 4779 3332 or visit altheaprojects.org.au