Coram

Coram launches its digital Foundling Hospital Archive. The digital archive, launched by Coram, which was established as the Foundling Hospital in London in 1739, brings to life the previously untold stories of over 20,000 children who grew up at the Hospital and of their birth mothers. Almost 100,000 pages of records from the Foundling Hospital, England’s first home for babies who were unable to be cared for by their parents, have today been made available online for the first time. The digital archive launch is the culmination of our five-year programme, Voices Through Time: The Story of Care, made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund Fund. Coram has digitised 405 volumes in the archive, almost a quarter of the entire collection, spanning 1739 to 1899. Nearly 6,500 volunteers from around the world helped transcribe the digital pages to enable detailed searching of their contents. Read more, including the link to the archive, here: https://lnkd.in/eRUsWrVi #FoundlingHospital #WeAreCoram #Archives #History #London

Today Coram celebrates Charter Day: the granting of the Royal Charter by George II to Captain Thomas Coram for the establishment of the Foundling Hospital in 1739 - the UK's first home for babies whose mothers couldn’t care for them. Upon returning to England after a decade in America, Thomas Coram was shocked to discover destitute and dying children on London’s streets. This drove him to spend the next 17 years advocating for their care, overcoming numerous challenges along the way. Through persistent campaigning, he gained the support of influential figures, including artists and philanthropists. On 17 October 1739, King George II signed a Royal Charter for the building of the Foundling Hospital in the fields around Bloomsbury, London. Thomas Coram’s life and ‘darling project’ has inspired generations of writers, playwrights and novelists. The legacy he left behind continues. Today we are known as the Coram Group of charities, named after the man whose single minded determination created a charity that now helps more than a million children and young people every year. To learn more and to support our work visit coram.org.uk Video clip is an excerpt from 'No Place Like Home: The Story of the Foundling Hospital' a documentary film created by production company Northern Town as part of Coram’s ‘Voices Through Time: The Story of Care’ programme, made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Watch the film in full on our Youtube channel. #BetterChancesForChildren #WeAreCoram #CharterDay #FoundlingHospital #FoundlingHospitalHistory #History #HistoryLondon #ChildrensCharity #Archives #NationalLotteryHeritageFund

To mark the unveiling of Coram's new art exhibition: Echoes of Care: The Living History of Coram and the Foundling Hospital, we invite you to join us for an evening of discussion and celebration in collaboration with Bloomsbury Festival. 📅 24/10/24, 6-8pm 📍 Coram Campus, London 🎟️ FREE: https://lnkd.in/ebVPCXV3 Echoes of Care is the creative culmination of the Voices Through Time: The Story of Care (VTT) programme. It integrates words, images and audio produced by care-experienced young people across five years of creative projects, with details of the lives of Foundlings, their mothers and others linked to the Foundling Hospital in its earliest years. In celebration of the programme, there will be a discussion with key individuals involved in the creative projects and young people will share some of the work they’ve produced. To compliment this, a large-scale projection will be displayed on the façade of Coram’s building. Guests will be welcomed with a drinks reception and nibbles. The exhibition is free to visit from the 17th October 2024 - 25th March 2025. For more information visit https://lnkd.in/e4w3HpSx Echoes of Care has been delivered as part of Voices Through Time: The Story of Care programme, made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. #RealStoriesOfCare #History #Foundlings #WeAreCoram #Archives #NationalLotteryHeritageFund #FoundlingHospital #FoundlingHospitalHistory #BloomsburyFestival #ThingsToDoInLondon #LondonExhibition #ArtExhibitionLondon

Coram extends a heartfelt thank you to DLA Piper for their fantastic fundraising efforts, raising over £700 through a 'Great British Bake-Off' style competition. Aoife Marrett, Associate at DLA Piper says: "We’re continually inspired by the amazing impact Coram has, and we’re proud to contribute to their efforts. We were also blown away by the baking talent within the firm and how fast the cakes sold out - it was a fantastic day all around!" #BetterChancesForChildren #WeAreCoram #CharityPartners #CorporateCharityPartnership #ChildrensCharity

To celebrate Black History Month, Coram has released a recording of our 2023 Coram Society event, Forgotten Foundlings, produced with In-Between Lines. This virtual event explores themes of voicelessness and invisibility in the story of care, centring the voices of those that have been missing from the historical record, as well as the experience of our speakers Anthony Lynch and Dr Hannah Dennett and young people in the Voices through Time: The Story of Care programme. You can watch the recording online: https://lnkd.in/eBJskaWp Coram's Voices Through Time: The Story of Care programme is made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. #WeAreCoram #BlackHistoryMonth #ChildrensCharity #ChildrensCharityUK #ChildrensCharityLondon

🔔 Reminder: Less than one month left! Applications for the Churchill Fellowship close on 12 November – this is your chance to be part of something extraordinary! ✨ Whether you’re passionate about tackling pressing issues, exploring global solutions, or creating change in your field, a Churchill Fellowship could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Get funded to travel anywhere in the world, in person or online, gain valuable international insights, and apply that knowledge to make a lasting impact. Don't let the deadline pass by – apply now to start your Fellowship journey and join our community of changemakers: https://lnkd.in/gK4d37tr

Join us for a live discussion on adoption, featuring special guest Jennifer K. an Adoption Outreach Ambassador for black African and Caribbean communities. Jennifer works for Coram, an outstanding independent adoption agency that operates across Greater London and surrounding areas. She brings a wealth of experience, raising awareness about the need for more black African and Caribbean families to adopt and break down cultural barriers in the adoption process. 🗓️ October 16, 2024 ⏰ Time: 7PM BST Key topics include: 🔹The adoption process and how it differs from foster care 🔹Overcoming barriers to adoption 🔹Supporting young people throughout the adoption journey 🔹Building positive relationships with social workers, birth parents, and schools 🔹Practical tools and resources for prospective adoptive parents We will also screen our award-winning short film "Be-Longing", followed by a director Q&A. Don’t miss this valuable opportunity to gain insights, connect with others, and support vulnerable young people in need of loving homes. 👉 Register Now: https://lnkd.in/eAn5pUbV #Adoption #Fostering #SupportCommunity #ChildCare

A huge well done and thank you to Clare, Colin and Vallessa who took on the Royal Parks Half Marathon yesterday and have so far raised £1,198 for Coram! A fantastic achievement, thank you all for being champions for children🏅 #WeAreCoram #ChildrensCharity #Fundraising

Black African & Caribbean Adoption Information Evening Find out more about how to become an adoptive parent with Coram at this free in-person information evening to celebrate Black History Month. The event will feature guest speaker Ann, a recent adopter of two children. ⏰ 30/10/24 17:30 - 19:00 📍Coram Campus, London 🎟️ FREE https://bit.ly/3zwECNO There are currently many children of black African & Caribbean and mixed black heritage waiting for a permanent family they can identify with. These children often wait the longest to be adopted. We encourage you to come forward if you are from a black or dual heritage African or Caribbean background and are interested in parenting a child through adoption. If you live within the M25 area, come along to our free in-person Adoption Information Evening. This will give you the opportunity to find out more about adoption and ask any questions you might have. Learn more and book your free place: https://bit.ly/3zwECNO #BetterChancesForChildren #WeAreCoram #Adoption

🌟 Exciting Progress on #Storyteller for Children in Care 🌟 Yesterday, Jane Keenan and I were invited to a post research and final report workshop on Storyteller for Children in Care, with special thanks to the kind and insightful facilitation by Paul S Weston of Science & Engineering Health Technologies Alliance (SEHTA). Supported by an RTO grant via Innovate UK, Paul presented the outcomes of his research on the Development and Market Access of an Integrated Digital Transition Solution for Young People in Care - an essential part of our important ongoing work. Together with our partner Coram i, led by Kevin Yong, we will soon be piloting our new platform Storyteller with a select number of service providers. This collaboration is a crucial step forward in empowering children in care to capture their stories, providing them with a safe and engaging digital platform to do so. Last week, we were proud to receive an OxLEP Business 'Innovator of the year 2024' award for our work in this area. We’re committed to making a real difference in the lives of young people, and we want to hear from forward-thinking, innovative service providers who are ready to join us on this journey. 📢 If you're interested in supporting the children in your care with this powerful storytelling platform (desktop and mobile) and also want to be part of an inclusive, co design led approach that we believe will be both meaningful and transformative and also has the potential to have a significantly positive impact on your #OFSTED rating, do get in touch with us! #ChildrensStories #Storyteller #DigitalTransition #Innovation #AfterCloud #Coram #SEHTA