Press releases

City's leading fundraising dinner to open doors for disabled children in care

Issued: 12 October 2005

• The October Club aims to raise £400,000 for BAAF's Opening Doors project
• Money will be used to develop new ways of finding more permanent families for disabled children.

A project that aims to transform the future for hundreds of disabled children in care is to be given a new lease of life, thanks to a major charity event.

Proceeds from The October Club dinner, to take place on Wednesday, October 12, will enable the British Association for Adoption & Fostering (BAAF) to continue its pioneering Opening Doors project.

Jennifer Cousins, BAAF Disability Project Consultant, says: "There are many disabled children in care, including an increasing number who have foetal alcohol syndrome. Disabled children wait a very long time for a new family and many never have a permanent loving home - BAAF believes more can and must be done to seek better futures for them."

She adds: "Through this project we hope to reach children for whom all existing methods have failed and aim to help adoption agencies find more families for them."

Anthony Douglas, BAAF Chair, says: "We are incredibly grateful to The October Club and all its supporters. Their huge generosity will help transform the lives of hundreds of children."

The first three years of the Opening Doors project focused on understanding the barriers to finding permanent families for disabled children, many of whom have profound physical impairments, learning difficulties and, in some cases, multiple impairments. It encouraged adoption agencies to make changes in their approach to finding families for these children.

The new project will now develop a range of innovative methods built on this experience. Children will be able to take part in finding their new family through computer aided programmes specifically designed for disabled children and through involvement in video-making. This will make it possible for them to express their wishes for a new family, while helping potential new parents to see the 'real child', rather than a profile written by an adult or a photograph.

The October Club has been raising money for small charities at its annual dinner for the last eighteen years. It is now the City's leading fundraising evening, attended by over 400 people representing most of the major financial institutions.

Commenting on choosing BAAF as this year's beneficiary of the dinner, the October Club Chairman, David McDonough, says:

"We were enormously impressed and moved by BAAF's fundraising case. The "Opening Doors" project we are going to fund - our target on the night is £400,000 - is directed at disabled children in care and helping them find loving families. Nothing could be more worthwhile and heart-warming. Adoption is a significant social issue and The October Club is proud to be raising a large sum of money to help transform these children's lives".

Notes to Editors

For more information, contact Daisy O'Clee on 020 7593 2053 / 07767 444 589 or Lucy Handford on 020 7593 2054 or email daisy.oclee@baaf.org.uk / lucy.handford@baaf.org.uk.

The October Club website is at www.octoberclub.com