You Can Adopt – Recruitment Campaign – request for life stories

You Can Adopt is looking for people to feature in a new public campaign to recruit adopters and highlight the rewarding journey of adopting a child. The campaign aims to highlight that while it may never feel like the ‘perfect’ time to start your adoption journey, and while there will be ups and downs along the way, it is worth it to change a child’s life by giving them a permanent home.

The You Can Adopt team explains more:

We’d love to hear from a variety of voices, from different regions, backgrounds, sexual orientations, genders and ethnicities, who can speak passionately about their adoption journeys – including the ups and downs, the rewards and the challenges, and ultimately why it’s been so worthwhile.

Ideas of the kind of people we’d like to hear from include:

• Parents of adopted children, including:

• • Parents who adopted a baby
  • Parents who adopted a young child (under 5)
  • Parents who adopted an older child (5+)
  • Parents who adopted a sibling group
  • Parents who adopted a child with a disability
  • Parents who adopted a child from a minority ethnic background

• We encourage a mix of parents, including:

• • Single parents
  • LGBTQ+
  • Representing different regions in England
  • Representing different ethnicities
• Adopted people now in teens or adulthood (who are willing to appear alongside their adopted parents)

Featuring in the campaign may include:

• Taking part in a recorded interview that would form part of a campaign film(s), to then be used on the You Can Adopt social media channels (as well as regional adoption agencies and voluntary adoption agencies social media channels across England) and in UK press. Example of a previous campaign film here.
• Taking part in photography that will also be used as part of the campaign, on social media and in UK press.

• • OR filming your own content on your phone, such as a short Instagram Reel, which will be used as part of the campaign on social media (example here) – full briefing would be provided

• Taking part in interviews with media about the experience of adopting a child (or being adopted)

• • To note, people willing to share their life stories must therefore be happy to tell their story publicly. The strong preference is for families to be shown in the filmsand in media, as this is much more engaging and reassuring for those considering adopting. We can work around your preferences for which kind of media you are happy to take part in.

Families will need to be available to film (location TBC, but possibly in London) in mid-May 2024, with the campaign launch planned for June/July. If families get involved from home filming their own content on their phones, this will also need to be recorded around the same time.

How we work and next steps

In terms of next steps, once we receive interest from life stories, we will set up an initial phone call with families/adopted people, to tell them more about the campaign, chat through their stories, and work out whether it’s right for them, before they decide if they want to progress. We will keep their adoption agency updated through the whole process.

Please could you share this with any adopted families and people in your networks? If anyone is interested, please could you ask them to get in touch with either adoptsouthwest@devon.gov.uk or adoption@freuds.com before Wednesday 24 April.