AFLW coach Matt Buck and wife Rachael Buck, celebrate 10 years fostering

An AFLW coach and his wife have fostered 150 children in the past decade. Now amid a carer crisis, they are encouraging others to do the same.

Geelong based Carlton AFLW coach Matt Buck and wife Rachael, a school principal, with their three sons. Picture: Supplied

An AFLW coach and school principal are urging people to consider becoming foster carers, after welcoming 150 kids into their home.

Matt Buck, senior coach of Carlton’s women’s team, and his wife, Newcomb Primary school principal Rachael Buck, have been foster carers for 10 years.

They started before they were married, Ms Buck said.

“Matt and I, we’ve always worked in schools with lots of disadvantaged children,” Ms Buck said.

“We saw kids jumping from placement to placement.

“We saw kids already in care.”

“Often school is their only constant”

Seeing the need, she said, sparked a desire to start foster caring.

Since then, the couple have housed 150 foster kids – and had three children of their own.

Ms Buck said the family, who now foster with MacKillop Family Services, had mostly been respite or emergency carers.

“Being able to give children the security of a loving, safe and happy environment is the most rewarding feeling,” she said.

She said watching children relax and grow trust as the family supported them was so special.

Geelong based Carlton AFLW coach Matt Buck and wife Rachael, a school principal, started foster caring before they had their boys. Picture: Supplied

A few years ago, Ms Buck said, a young boy was dropped off at their house on his birthday.

“Matt went out and got him a birthday cake,” she said.

“Later we found out it was the first birthday cake he’d ever had.”

Fostering with their young children, Ms Buck said, was worth every challenge.

“The gratitude and empathy it teaches our boys is incredible,” she said.

“They understand that children have different experiences in life, and I’m proud about how good they are at sharing and being inclusive.”

Ms Buck said with such a great need for carers in Geelong, everyone who was able should consider fostering.

“Its doesn’t matter if you’re single, same-sex relationship, you might have never had kids, or have kids,” she said.

“Even if you can just do one weekend a month.

“If it’s crossed your mind, think about it seriously.”

MacKillop Family Services os putting a call-out for carers this Foster Care Week, which started Sunday, to battle an ongoing decline in carers.

MacKillop Family Services state manager of carer recruitment Tania Ferris said there was a huge need for Geelong foster carers to prevent children from being sent to emergency care far from home.

“We’ve got more children coming in to the system than people fostering,” she said.

“We’re needing to see local kids stay within the local area.”

Originally published as AFLW coach Matt Buck and wife Rachael Buck, celebrate 10 years fostering