Denise Soares

Barnardo's

At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. We will ensure their needs are met and their voices are heard. In 2016, we marked 150 years since Thomas Barnardo founded our charity. Since then we have helped hundreds of thousands of children to grow up happy and healthy and to fight to realise his dream of a world where no child is turned away. Barnardo's is the children's charity with the largest number of services on the ground in the UK: we run over 960 services in local communities. Our work includes reaching and helping children who have been sexually exploited, young people leaving the care system, children with a parent in prison and families struggling to cope. We find loving adoptive homes and foster placements for children in care. Last year we helped transform the lives of more than 240,000 of the UK's children, young people and families. We helped many more by campaigning to change policy and public opinion. We believe a child's future should never be defined by their past. We want to transform the lives of millions more vulnerable children in the UK – however difficult the beginning of their story. Incredible things happen when you believe in children.