Foster carer Annetta Harding is to receive an Honoured Citizen Award for her dedication to helping young teenagers catch up on their education.
She will be given the award by Leicester's Lord Mayor, Councillor John Thomas, on Thursday.
Annetta has also been nominated for a national 'First for Fostering award' to be announced later in the year.
She began fostering 25 years ago following a career as a youth worker. Annetta felt drawn to fostering as a way to help the young people she'd met who didn't seem to have reliable adults in their lives. So far she has fostered more than 50 young people – many of whom are still in touch with her by phone or letter.
Annetta said: "Since I've been fostering, I've taken up a lot of training that has really helped me. One of the first children I fostered couldn't read or write. He was the oldest of 10 and had been arrested for shoplifting. It turned out that he'd been stealing food to feed his younger brothers and sisters. He was a nice lad, but was terrified of school and embarrassed that the other kids had got so far ahead of him. Bit by bit, I got him reading and writing and helped him catch up with the education he'd missed out on. This encouraged me to see the possibilities in every child.
"Education is huge. It's just the best feeling in the world to see the delight on a boy or girl's face when they realise that they can actually achieve something.
"It's not always easy. A lot of children get suspicious and put up a brick wall, but I've got ways of chipping away at their defences.
"Annie came to stay a year ago. I could that she was vulnerable and afraid. She had fallen behind in her education mainly due to undiagnosed dyslexia. I got her to an optician and got her some specialist glasses that made an immediate difference."
Annetta said that despite hard work, you can't succeed with every child, especially if they are only with you for a short time.
But she said the good times far outweigh any disappointments."
Paul Morley from Leicester City Council's fostering and adoption centre said: "Carers like Annetta are prepared to go the extra mile for the children they look after. Older children coming into care have often had a disrupted home life where basic things like their health and education have been neglected. These children can find it hard to settle at school because they have fallen so far behind and fear that they will never catch up. Foster carers start by giving children a sense of security and then work with schools and other professionals to make sure they get the help they need. It's not an easy job, but the rewards of seeing the difference you can make to a child's future are fantastic."
More foster carers are urgently needed in the city and county to offer short term or permanent family care for children aged 10 and over. Carers are given training along with 24-hour support and nationally agreed payments.
Drop in information events are running on September 18 and October 14 between 5pm and 7pm at St Martins House, Peacock Lane, Leicester.
To find out more ring 0116 454 4500 or visit www.leicester.gov.uk/fostering
