Glynn and Ann O’Donnell
Glynn and Ann O’Donnell have battled ill health to provide a loving home to 37 youngsters over the past quarter of a century.
The Biddulph couple, aged 74 and 66, also have three of their own children.
Ann said: “Over those 25 years we’ve never had a day when we haven’t been fostering. We have never seen this as a job, it’s a calling. It’s so rewarding, because every child deserves a loving home to grow up in, and we give them just that.”
They often receive visits from people they have fostered over the years, including some who return with their own children.
Glynn and Ann have been nominated as Carers of the Year in the Your Heroes Awards by Marie Plant, Fostering Recruitment Officer at Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
She said: “I am nominating them for their compassion and empathy for the children that they care for and for their tenacity in ensuring that the appropriate long-term care is provided for each child.”
The couple have fostered youngsters from newborn to 18 years old, offering an environment filled with love, support and guidance.
Both have battled cancer, but that didn’t stop them in their desire to continue to provide a nurturing and positive environment for young people within their home.
The couple are child-focused and work hard to ensure the children in their care achieve their full potential.
Ann added: “I lost my mum when she was 49 and from that moment I always wanted to ensure that children had somewhere safe and supportive. That’s the least that they deserve.
“When they come back to us and bring their own children, that is just amazing. As long as we are fit and healthy, I see no reason why me and Glynn will ever stop providing a home for children that really need one.”
Paul and Sam Joynson
Foster carers Paul and Sam Joynson are so dedicated to the children and young people they support that they have moved house and Paul has given up his day job.
The Sandford Hill couple began their fostering journey in December 2023 alongside raising three youngsters of their own.
Sam’s parents were foster carers for a number of years and Paul had experience of the care system while he was growing up. For the couple, both in their early thirties, fostering is a calling.
Marie Plant, Fostering Recruitment Officer at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “They are so dedicated and passionate about fostering. They are just so proud to be foster carers.
“The couple have cared for a baby since birth who has come on amazing since being in their care, they are also caring for a sibling group. The couple are passionate about keeping brothers and sisters together.”
Paul said: “We are hugely upbeat people and try to take the positive from any negative situation. We believe that everyone has the right to a loving childhood and a good start in life.
“We get so much satisfaction from what we are doing. Our belief is that everyone should try to spread kindness whenever they can. It’s a harsh world that we live in, but we are fiercely determined to do what we can to make it better. That means we will be helping as many kids as we can.
“We want every child in our care to feel valued and loved.”
Paul and Sam Joynson have been nominated in the Carer of the Year category of the Your Heroes Awards 2025.
Marie Plant
With more than a dozen years of going above and beyond for foster parents, children, families and extended families in Stoke-on-Trent, Marie Plant has been described as ‘phenomenal’ and ‘an inspiration to us all’.
Marie has been Fostering Recruitment Officer at Stoke-on-Trent City Council for five years and has worked within her team of 33 since 2012. Her passion and dedication have help transform the lives of countless children and carers.
With a background in health and social care, Marie is not just the first point of contact for prospective foster carers, she provides “a broad after-care service for everyone who I come into contact with in fostering that needs support, guidance and help.”
Based at the Civic Centre in Stoke, Marie can also be found at numerous events doing outreach work at weekends and out-of-hours. She is renowned for her caring and empathetic understanding of children and carers and their motivations, challenges and concerns, offering professional and enthusiastic support.
Marie said: “It’s an amazing job. I am hugely passionate about helping others and helping to find solutions whenever and wherever I can. My role is all-encompassing and ranges from initial visits to social media, and from attending functions to producing a monthly newsletter.
“This role has totally changed my outlook on life and I get so much job satisfaction from it. It’s great to work passionately for children in care, families, extended families and everyone else I come into contact with.
“We have around 370 carers in the city, but over 1,100 children that require our support. So we are always on the lookout for new carers. However, we are making real progress, and fostering within the city is in a far better place now.
“My hopes for the future are to get more and more foster carers in, retain all the brilliant ones we already have and to keep progressing as a team.”
Marie has been nominated in the Carer of the Year category of the Your Heroes Awards 2025.