Fatima
Whitbread MBE
Double Olympic Medallist,
Javelin World Champion,
and Founder of Fatima’s
UK Campaign
Fatima Whitbread MBE is a world champion javelin thrower, double Olympian, and Founder of Fatima’s UK Campaign. Fatima made history at the 1987 World Championships with a gold medal performance that cemented her place among Britain’s greatest athletes, however, she is now using her platform to advocate for children in care. Raised in the UK care system after being abandoned as a baby, Fatima is now dedicated to making fundamental changes to our Children’s care system, and her team has just staged a successful summit at the Guildhall, London.
Her personal story, chronicled in national media outlets from The Guardian to the BBC, has made her a powerful advocate for change, most recently as the driving force behind the #CareToChange campaign.
In 2023, Fatima launched Fatima’s UK Campaign, dedicated to empowering young people through resilience-building residential programmes and early intervention. Her foundation partners with schools, local authorities, and youth services to offer children in care the same structure, support, and belief that helped shape her own success. Under her leadership, the organisation has become a force for hope, helping care-experienced children reframe trauma and realise their potential.
A recipient of an MBE for services to athletics and charity, Fatima has also appeared on national television as a presenter and personality, using every public platform to champion causes close to her heart. She regularly contributes to conferences, policy roundtables, and campaigns aimed at strengthening outcomes for care leavers and improving professional standards in children’s services.
Fatima’s mission is guided by a commitment to dignity, opportunity, and belonging for every child. She believes the care system should not be a last resort, but a springboard to possibility. Her own life is proof of what’s possible when a child is supported and believed in.
She remains driven by a single conviction: to ensure children in care are “seen, heard and valued.”
Read My Story ⬇
Fatima Whitbread MBE
Double Olympic Medallist, Javelin World Champion,
and Founder of Fatima’s UK Campaign
Fatima Whitbread MBE is a world champion javelin thrower, double Olympian, and Founder of Fatima’s UK Campaign. Fatima made history at the 1987 World Championships with a gold medal performance that cemented her place among Britain’s greatest athletes, however, she is now using her platform to advocate for children in care. Raised in the UK care system after being abandoned as a baby, Fatima is now dedicated to making fundamental changes to our Children’s care system, and her team has just staged a successful summit at the Guildhall, London.
Her personal story, chronicled in national media outlets from The Guardian to the BBC, has made her a powerful advocate for change, most recently as the driving force behind the #CareToChange campaign.
In 2023, Fatima launched Fatima’s UK Campaign, dedicated to empowering young people through resilience-building residential programmes and early intervention. Her foundation partners with schools, local authorities, and youth services to offer children in care the same structure, support, and belief that helped shape her own success. Under her leadership, the organisation has become a force for hope, helping care-experienced children reframe trauma and realise their potential.
A recipient of an MBE for services to athletics and charity, Fatima has also appeared on national television as a presenter and personality, using every public platform to champion causes close to her heart. She regularly contributes to conferences, policy roundtables, and campaigns aimed at strengthening outcomes for care leavers and improving professional standards in children’s services.
Fatima’s mission is guided by a commitment to dignity, opportunity, and belonging for every child. She believes the care system should not be a last resort, but a springboard to possibility. Her own life is proof of what’s possible when a child is supported and believed in.
She remains driven by a single conviction: to ensure children in care are “seen, heard and valued.”
Read My Story ⬇
