Cumbria Fostering has launched its latest recruitment campaign with a powerful new film, 'Any of Us'.

Collaborating with more than 80 local authority foster services, the film highlights the fact that people from all walks of life have the potential to foster.

The film, featuring three diverse characters, can be watched on Cumberland Council's YouTube channel.

Any of Us explores the innate instincts and qualities crucial for foster care through the daily lives of Ayesha, Neil, and Marsha.

Ayesha aids a pedestrian after a minor road incident, Neil diffuses tension in a snooker club, and Marsha perceptively intervenes with a distressed young individual at school.

Their intertwined narratives with Chloe, an incoming foster child, reveals who among the three would ultimately become Chloe's foster guardian.

Despite already supporting about 275 foster carers across the county who nurture over 725 children, Cumbria Fostering, working on behalf of Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council, is seeking more individuals to foster, to avoid the unsettling event of vulnerable children separated from siblings or placed distantly from their local vicinity.

Cllr Emma Williamson, Executive member for Children and Family Wellbeing at Cumberland Council, said: “All councils have their own area where we want to recruit foster carers from, so it makes great business sense to collaborate to produce a film that communicates a universal message: We all need more people to step forward and become foster carers.”

Cllr Sue Sanderson, Cabinet member Children’s Services Education and Skills at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “When it comes to fostering, that message is the same, from London to the Lake District – in every town, city and county – consider if you can offer a home to our most vulnerable children and young people."

The basic requirements for fostering include being above 21 years, having at least one spare room, and possessing the determination to support and nurture a child.

Sarah Thomas, chief executive of the Fostering Network said: "There’s currently a shortage of 6,000 fostering households in England, so films like this have a vital role to play in encouraging more people to become foster carers.”

Cumbria Fostering has planned several informational events across the county, including in Barrow, Workington, Penrith, and Carlisle, to accompany the film's launch, starting with a virtual event on September 28 from 7pm-8pm. To book a place, email fosteringevents@cumbriafostering.org.uk, For more information, call 0300 013 2065 or visit cumbriafostering.org.uk.