A choir of remarkable children and young people who look after sick or disabled relatives will take centre stage next month when Barnardo’s Cymru hold a fundraising concert. The Merthyr Young Carers’ Choir, whose members are aged between nine and 15, often have heavy responsibilities at home helping to look after parents or siblings. But every week they have a night off to sing their hearts out with the choir which meets in Dowlais. On Monday, March 2 they will…

  Some of South Wales’ most vulnerable children who might otherwise have no presents at Christmas will now have gifts to unwrap, thanks to generous coffee drinkers. Customers of Starbucks branches run by the Magic Bean franchise are being invited to collect a star from an instore Christmas tree and donate a gift for the child named on the star. The children are all supported by Barnardo’s Cymru. All customers who donate a gift receive a free festive drink from…

A pioneering new service which helps families overcome domestic abuse is about to start working with its 100th family, less than six months after it was launched.   Children’s charity Barnardo’s Cymru was awarded £950,000 of Home Office funding to help families across Gwent through the Opening Closed Doors project. It is the only project of its type in Wales.   A whole-family approach allows  both parent and child victims to receive support while the perpetrators of domestic abuse take…

Letters and Post-it notes will be replaced by body implants and hologram technology as ways people communicate in the future, a new online survey for Barnardo’s reveals.   Polling firm YouGov asked 3,262 children and adults across Britain how they used to communicate, how they do now and how they think young people will talk to each other in 30 years’ time.   The survey coincides with 30 years since the launch of the world wide web and a new…

Years of working with vulnerable families convinced Tony Foulkes that he wanted to offer a safe, loving home for children in care.   Approaching early retirement he persuaded wife Cathie  that they should begin fostering with Barnardo’s Cymru and the couple have found it so rewarding that they are now backing the charity’s campaign (September 16 to 22) to recruit more much-needed foster parents in Wales.   During the last nine years Tony, 66, and Cathie, 60 of Abergele have…

Helen Connolly, South Australia’s first Children’s Commissioner, has been in South Wales learning how Barnardo’s Cymru supports children who are affected by abuse or have parents in prison.   She was able to talk to prisoners at HMP Parc near Bridgend, tour the prison’s visitor centre run by Barnardo’s Cymru and visit the charity’s Better Futures service. Better Futures helps children and young people affected by the trauma of abuse, who engage in harmful sexual behaviour and who are victims…

        Vulnerable children and young people helped by Barnardo’s Cymru will have colourful and comfortable surroundings when they call in for future support sessions, thanks to a team of volunteers from IKEA.   Staff from the Swedish furniture giant’s Cardiff Bay store travelled to Barnardo’s Better Futures service in Pyle with enough furniture, pictures and toys to transform counselling rooms, a music room and art room.   It was part of a national partnership with Barnardo’s which…

Children who are struggling with the trauma of having a parent in prison are receiving extra help thanks to a project being run by Barnardo’s Cymru.   Teachers across South Wales are being trained to identify and support such children while their classmates are learning why they should be kind and understanding.   Children of prisoners can suffer bullying, stigma and mental health issues but a new training pack produced by Barnardo’s Cymru is aimed at making life easier for…