Yesterday, on 18th September 2025, Carolina House Trust celebrated its 210th anniversary with a Civic Reception in Dundee.
To mark the occasion, we sat down with our Chairman, Donald MacKenzie, to reflect on the Trust’s journey, his own involvement and why fostering matters now more than ever.
Q: Donald, how did you become involved with Carolina House Trust?
Donald: I joined the Board in April 2015, just after I retired from local authority social work. I’d spent my whole career working alongside children, families and carers, so when the opportunity came to continue that in a different way, I was keen to take that on. I wanted to keep making a difference.
Q: Carolina House Trust has a long history, stretching back to 1815. What do you think has been its biggest achievement during your 10 years on the Board?
Donald: For me, one of the biggest achievements is the culture we’ve built. It’s a culture of trying, learning and persevering – that not everything necessarily works first time, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is trying, learning from that and moving forwards.
In local authority settings, the culture was often one of accountability. When challenges arose, the first question was ‘who is responsible?’ At Carolina House Trust, we view mistakes as opportunities to learn. But, best of all, that’s not just within the team – that growth mindset has been rolled out and embraced by staff, carers and the young people. It’s who we are now, so it’s been somewhat of a revelation.
Q: How does that mindset trickle down to the young people in your care?
Donald: For most young people, coming into foster care means adjusting to a new environment and a new way of being supported. Through Carolina House Trust, they find a culture that’s focused on growth, resilience and opportunities. That shift can take time, but gradually you start to see young people gain confidence, build new skills, and begin to blossom.
Q: And what about the carers—what opportunities are there for them?
Donald: Carers are central to everything. A foster carer’s influence reaches into every corner of a young person’s life, from their education, social circles, confidence and ambition.
The opportunities for the right people are vast. Fostering brings enormous satisfaction: the knowledge that you’ve opened your life and your home in a way that allows a young person to build theirs. You get to see young people take their next steps into adulthood – whether that’s further learning, work or other opportunities that work for them. Most importantly, you see them set their own goals and grow in confidence as they achieve them. That’s an incredible privilege.
And fostering is far more accessible than many people think. You don’t have to fit a certain mould like people think, or how it used to be. Single people, same-sex couples, people from all walks of life can and do foster successfully. What matters is the person – their openness and willingness to walk alongside a young person as they grow.
Q: This year’s anniversary reception was a big moment for the Trust. How did it feel to mark 210 years?
Donald: It was wonderful. To have our carers, young people, supporters, and partners together in the same room was really special. We even had the Black Watch Army Cadet Force Pipes and Drums welcome us in, including one of our very own young people, who played us in with such pride. That sense of community is something we’ve built carefully and seeing it all come together at the Civic Reception felt like a fitting tribute to the past 210 years.
Q: Looking to the future, what message would you like to share with people considering fostering?
Donald: With the national shortage of foster carers, there’s a huge need right now. But I’d also say there’s a huge opportunity. For the right people, fostering will bring rewards you can’t measure, watching a young person grow in confidence, independence and purpose.
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “could I do this?”- I’d encourage you to find out more. You might be surprised at just how possible it is, and how flexible it can be too, whether you’re able to help with short breaks or longer-term care.
Q: Finally, what does being part of Carolina House Trust mean to you personally?
Donald: Honestly, it’s a joy. To see young people thrive, to watch carers gain so much from the experience, and to be part of a community that values growth and resilience. After ten years on the Board, I still feel privileged every day to play a small part in this journey.
And while it’s important to look back, we must also look forward!
To our Chief Operating Officer, Sara Lovelock, we asked what challenges Carolina House Trust faces in 2025.
Sara added, “It is estimated that Scotland needs another 350 foster carers to be able to provide family-based care for young people who can’t live with their birth families. We are actively working to recruit new carers, but as with all foster care services, there just aren’t enough people thinking about fostering as a career. Being a foster carer can be challenging, but with the right support, it can be the most worthwhile work that people can do. I would ask people who are considering becoming carers to contact us so they can find out what fostering really is and how rewarding it can be.”
And, Sara, what will Carolina House Trust look like in a decade from now?
“I joined Carolina House Trust just after we celebrated the 200-year anniversary, and it was great to start working with an organisation with such a rich history. In recent years, the community has become a Growth Mindset organisation, one that works in a trauma-informed way and has welcomed new guidance and legislation that support change and improvement. It is a credit to our young people, carers, staff and Board members that they are so adaptable to new ways of doing things. I am not sure what exactly I would like the organisation to look like, but I hope that it will be as dynamic and forward-thinking as it is now, with improving outcomes for young people at its heart.”
For more information about fostering with Carolina House Trust, visit our Fostering & Continuing Care pages.
