Lifetime achievement award for local charity CEO

Families for Children, Chief Executive Caroline Davis, OBE, has received a Lifetime Achievement award for her services to children and adoption in the South West.  Caroline beat off three  others worthy contenders from across the UK to be awarded the Gareth Marr Lifetime Achievement Award the National Adoption Week awards in London.

Caroline has worked in children’s services for 40 years. She has spent the last 25 years as the CEO of one of the UK’s most successful Voluntary Adoption Agencies, Families for Children. She works tirelessly with other professional bodies and agencies including the CVAA, and has played a pivotal role in the development of the new Regional Adoption Agencies, Aspire Adoption & Adopt South West. In 2014 she was also awarded an OBE by the Queen for her continued work

Caroline says “I was very excited and shocked to receive the Life Time Achievement Award.  It comes at a very exciting time for Families for Children as we are expanding our adoption support services across the region.  The charity currently places over 40 children a year with adopted families in the area and at any one time we are supporting over 120 families with our support services.

The services we can provide include multi-disciplinary assessments, a variety of therapeutic services, education and support to schools, training for adopters, and a wraparound service offering telephone support for guidance, advice. This is something we are very proud to have developed and which will be of huge benefit to adoptive families across the South West.  I am proud of all my staff at the charity and am look in forward what this year will bring”

The charity has been supported by Celebrity Chef, Michael Caines, and MBE for many years. 

A colleague continues to describes Caroline: ‘She is passionate in her work and more importantly about people. She has a very special gift in helping people to believe in themselves and to develop their strengths. She has a huge heart, endless patience, and boundless compassion. I have met no other Manager in my 40-year career who is so supportive of her staff and those around her. She is a creative thinker, a problem solver and has endless energy. She relates with equal care and attention to detail, with people of all ages, culture and ethnicity’.

A big congratulations to Caroline.