Career prospects flourish for young carer

Young carer from Tower Hamlets in London to see her own designed bouquet in Bloom & Wild’s autumn collection.

A young adult carer from Tower Hamlets has described how a training workshop with a leading online florist lit a light within her, sparking her creative ambition and helping her focus on a career path for the first time.
(Because of the amount of time spent on their caring role at home, young adult carers often need extra support to help them achieve their potential, both at school and as they embark on working life. See Notes to Editor for more detail.)

In spring this year, Billie, who is a member of the Young Adult Carers Project at the Carers Centre in Tower Hamlets, attended a design workshop hosted by online florists, Bloom & Wild. The workshop was designed to help young adult carers think about a potential career path and give them an insight into working life. It was organised as part of Bloom & Wild’s charity partnership with Carers Trust, the UK charity supporting unpaid carers and local carer organisations.

Along with two other young adult carers, the workshop helped Billie gain invaluable insight into how bouquets are designed and arranged. They were also able to learn from Bloom & Wild’s Range Director as well as one of its expert florists. In the afternoon, the young adult carers were encouraged to unleash their creative talents by designing their very own bouquets to be featured on Bloom & Wild’s website as part of the brand’s autumn collection.

The young adult carers’ three bouquets will be sold on the Bloom & Wild website from 26th September to 31st October for 2 weeks each. £1 from every bouquet sold will be donated to Carers Trust.

Explaining how she put together her bouquet for the Bloom & Wild autumn range, young adult carer Billie said:
“My brief was to create a bouquet inspired by the ocean. The colours of the flowers and the foliage seemed to be just like the way the sea can be blue and green at the same time. I also picked flowers that seemed to give the appearance of rolling waves.”

Carers Trust’s Head of Young Carers and Young Ault Carers, Vicky Morgan, said:
“Being a young adult carer can be overwhelming, with so much to do at home caring for a family member. Young adult carers often find it difficult therefore to find time to think about what they need to do to develop their own futures. This is why we are so excited to work with leading employers like Bloom & Wild. They can provide young adult carers not just with invaluable insights into working life. But like with Billie, they can give young adult carers precious opportunities to unlock their potential and develop their confidence so they can go on to fulfil their potential.”

Charlotte Langley, Bloom & Wild’s VP Brand & Communications said: “We’re thrilled to be launching the three carer designed bouquets on our website this autumn, as a way to celebrate 2 years partnering with Carers Trust and helping to raise awareness and funds for unpaid carers across the UK.”