Hundreds of young people from across the country will be heading to Tottenham Hotspur stadium tomorrow (19 November) for the Who Care Wins! event.

The care careers conference and exhibition is organised by Hallmark Foundation with Championing Social Care.

Some 25 organisations will be exhibiting at Who Cares Wins! with many more speaking. Guest speakers include:

• Conference MC, Bailey-Stephen Greetham-Clark, who leads Be Great Fitness
• Avnish Goyal CBE, chair of Hallmark Foundation and Championing Social Care, on being a care entrepreneur
• Oonagh Smith, chief executive of Skills for Care, which supports the adult care workforce
• Jermaine Harris, one of the country’s leading motivational presenters
• Nye Brown, managing director of Hallmark Luxury Care Homes, about his career path
• Young people already working in the care sector including Charlie Lebatt, Lily Patrick, Tamuka Muvevi and Veiz Cani
• Anita Goyal MBE, chair of the Goyal Foundation, on next steps for young people and follow-ups to the event
• With a special message from Beth England, Tottenham Hotspur women’s captain and Lioness
• Breakout sessions will be led by UpFront Theatre, Dudley Sawyer, Lee Gilbert, Simran Sehmi and Isabelle Latham

Welcoming students to Who Cares Wins!, Avnish and Anita Goyal will say: “Social care is vital to everyone – all of us will need care or become caregivers ourselves at some point in our lives. The demand for care is only set to grow.

“With the increasing needs of older and disabled adults, it’s predicted that in the next decade there will be at least half a million new jobs in this rapidly expanding sector.

“And it’s not just frontline care—there are roles across hospitality, technology, finance, HR, PR, and many more. That’s why this event is so important—it marks the start of real change.

“We hope following Who Cares Wins! that young people will feel empowered, inspired and informed about what a career in social care really looks like.

“We need people who are passionate, dedicated, and caring and want to make a real difference. Young people who care will win!”

Who Cares Wins! is set to take place tomorrow at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Photo credit: Hzh, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

As the Care Sector Fundraising Ball prepares for its fifth outing at the end of September, it’s a chance to reflect on how the event has grown and developed into a major fixture in the social care calendar. The first four Balls have raised some £1.2 million in total for charities and 2024 promises to be the biggest and best yet.

It seems a long time ago when my husband Avnish and I organised the first Ball in 2018 – when Championing Social Care and the Hallmark Foundation were just twinkles in our eyes. A second Ball followed in 2019 before Covid intervened and meant that 2020 and 2021 were fallow years.

But we bounced back in 2022, raising a record sum of just over £400k for two charities: Care Workers Charity and Alzheimer’s Society. Only for that record to be smashed again in 2023 with £426k raised for the same two charities.

For me, there have been several highlights over the last six years.

First, the Ball has brought together an ever widening group of social care professionals and supporters with a common cause: to have a good time, network with like-minded colleagues old and new, and raise substantial sums for charity. The Ball was the first flagship event of Championing Social Care and it’s now one of several annual programmes run by the growing charity.

Second, the Ball and its development have only been possible through excellent teamwork, bringing together a wide range of people from different parts of the sector with complementary skills and knowledge. I have made many great friends through organising the Ball.

Third, the fact that people return to the Ball year after year is testament to the quality of the event and how it gets better every year attracting more and more guests. Excellent, fun entertainment and dancing; wonderful Indian food and service; great networking; opportunities for all to give from auctions to prize draws; and record sums raised every year.

Fourth, of course the main purpose of the event is to support two fantastic charities. In 2024 they will be Care Workers Charity again and Marie Curie for the first time, along with a number of small charities. It really is the care sector giving back to those who need help the most.

For all these reasons and more, Hallmark Foundation is proud to support the 2024 Ball as its founding partner. Everyone is guaranteed a wonderful evening while raising more funds for care charities.

And the Ball is a prime example of the difference that Championing Social Care makes, shining a positive light on social care. More people from within the care sector and beyond are joining the partnership to promote all that is good about care and how we make a difference day in day out for so many older people and people with a disability in the UK.

Come to the Ball on 28 September to find out more and see why it’s my favourite event of the year.

“We also need to recognise the challenges of a largely female workforce. Like our population, the care workforce is aging, with many due to retire in the next decade. Many will also be caring for their own family members, they may be experiencing menopause and the impact that has on their health. Yet they continue to do one of the most demanding jobs in our society for relatively low pay.”