This is a text-only version of an article first published on Thursday, 23 May 2019. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
PARENTS And Children Together (PACT) is searching for adopters who could provide a forever family for groups of siblings who need to stay together. PACT has links with the Diocese as it was originally founded in 1911 by the then Bishop of Oxford.
The charity supports families through adoption, award-winning therapeutic support and community projects.
Last year PACT placed 91 children with 58 families through its adoption services. There are currently more than 2,000 children waiting to be adopted in England, many of them are in sibling groups of two or more.
The charity is particularly looking for adopters who can take a sibling group of three children to enable brothers and sisters to stay together. Louise* and her husband Tom, from Oxfordshire, adopted Sophie, five, Ben, three, and Amy, two, through PACT in March 2011 as they were unable to have their own children.
The siblings had been separated in foster care, and it was thought they might also be adopted by two families as it would be easier to place them that way.
But Louise, who said she and Tom were keen to adopt more than one child, said: "Being able to bring them back together was such an important thing for us. "Louise said there were definite logistical challenges of adopting three children and of making sure they met all their individual needs, but that they had received fantastic post-adoption support from PACT.
She added: "Every day was, and still is, a challenge.
But we are just a regular family getting on with life and enjoying ourselves.
We would not change it for the world. "Harry and his wife Claire's dream of a family was realised when they adopted three siblings, all under four years old, through PACT in 2016.
See the story here more on Harry and his plans to run the London Marathon for PACT.
Harry said: "Seeing their smiling, excited faces when I come home from work or get off early and pick them up from school is more than I had ever dreamed of. "We have benefited from one-to-one support from a therapeutic support worker which has been a great help settling our three children into their forever family and know that this support will be available if needed for the rest of their lives. "Jonathan and Katherine, from Banbury, adopted three sisters through PACT in 2013.
At the time the girls were three, two and a year old. Katherine said: "We are delighted to be parents, thanks to PACT, and we are fortunate to be able to give a home to these three lovely girls.
Now we have such a strong bond with them, they are part of our family and it's a privilege to be their mum. "PACT Chief Executive Jan Fishwick said: "Finding adopters with the skills and space for three children is crucial so that brothers and sisters, who have often had an unsettled enough start to their life, can be adopted and stay together with a new forever family. " PACT also runs frequent adoption information evenings where anyone considering adoption (not just those interested in adopting siblings) can find out more. *Names have been changed to protect identities.