Introducing Care Day 2024

#CareDay24 will be celebrated across the world on Friday 16th February.

Each year EPIC Care Community and Youth Council members develop a Care Day theme, and for their 2024 celebration they have chosen “I am what I choose to become”.

For Care Day this year, they want to focus on other children in care and send a strong message – aim high, dream big, and reach for your goals!

They are also calling for people to be #CareAware - to not only look beyond the surface and improve understanding of the unique challenges they can face, but to promote positive care identities and tackle stigma.

“I am what I choose to become”

On the EPIC Youth Councils, there is a diversity of talent and interest.

From aspiring nurses, paramedics and social care workers to Lego enthusiasts, creatives, and footballers, as well as young people who have embarked on careers as teachers, social workers, and digital marketers. These inspirational young people have overcome challenges and are embracing their future.

Virtual Participation Events

participation@epiconline.ie

To join the Care Day celebrations or to show your support follow and use the hashtags #CareDay24 and #CareAware. Or visit www.epiconline.ie for more information.

Care Day was established in

February 2016 as a day to celebrate

the positive experiences and

contributions of children and young people in care or with care experience - who rise every day and overcome challenges most of us will never experience.

Celebrating and connecting the

care- experienced community

The idea for Care Day was developed by young care-leavers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. It began as a joint initiative across five children’s rights organisations, including Become (England), Who Cares? Scotland, Voices from Care (Wales), Voice of Young People in Care (Northern Ireland), and EPIC.

While discussing their different care experiences, they agreed that the public were not fully aware about care systems, and that this contributed to their shared experience of stigma and negative perceptions and stereotypes about children and young people who are or have been in care. They envisioned a day that would highlight the achievements and celebrate children and young people with care experience, while also educating the public about the care system itself.

They believed that this might address some of the misconceptions the public may have, while also improving their understanding of the obstacles both they and their peers can face.

Another primary objective of Care Day was to create a sense of community across the world for those with care experience, to help children and young people support each other and be proud of who they are and what they have achieved.