TWELVE young carers from across Solihull borough tucked into a celebratory pizza at Touchwood on Young Carers Awareness Day.
The Pizza Express treat was organised by managers at the shopping centre as a thank you to the young people for the “wonderful care they provide”.
Young Carers Awareness Day was held across the UK on January 30 to raise awareness of the challenges faced by young carers and to campaign for greater support for them. Recent research shows that as many as one in five secondary school children may be a young carer.
The centre invited young carers, aged five to 25, for a well-deserved break through Carers Trust Solihull. Each of the young carers is responsible for looking after somebody at home with a physical disability, mental health needs, long-term illness, sensory impairment or learning disabilities.
Barry Noy at Carers Trust Solihull said: “All of our young carers had a brilliant time at Pizza Express. We’d like to thank the team at Touchwood for inviting us, and giving these special young people the chance to relax for the evening and spend some time away from their day to day responsibilities, it was the perfect way to celebrate Young Carers Awareness Day!”
Lucy Burnett, marketing manager at Touchwood said: “Young carers often take on responsibilities usually expected of an adult, which is why we wanted to take the time to do something nice for them and thank them for their hard work. We hope they all had a fantastic time and we look forward to welcoming them back to the centre soon.”
Touchwood houses some of the best UK and international brands, designer retailers and independent boutique style stores.
For more information about Young Carers Awareness Day, support and resources available visit https://carers.org/young-carers-awareness-day-2020-resources
