Join the Coram Society
The Coram Society offers a series of thoughtfully programmed events and updates throughout the calendar year that bring together supporters of Coram and those working in our sectors.
Join us as we not only look back at Coram’s important history, but look around us and to the future at ways that we can collectively work towards better chances for children.
Upcoming events
Beyond the Headlines: Childhood and Wellbeing in a Changing World: Monday 20 May, 6.15 – 7.30pm, online
Young people around the world are said to be facing a dramatic decline in their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Building on the momentum of Mental Health Awareness Week 2024, this online event will delve into mental health research insights and tackle the crucial question: what should we do?
Music Through Time: Monday 1o June, 3.30 – 5pm, in-person
Join us for a special, in-person Coram Society event to celebrate Coram’s long engagement with music. John Caldicott, a former Foundling Hospital pupil, and Philippa Dodds John MBE, lead organiser of Coram’s Handel Birthday Concert, will help us explore the changing role of music in Coram’s history.
Recent events
Tea and Talk with Kristen Renzi and Carol Harris: Tuesday 26 March, 4.30 – 6pm, In person
To mark Women’s History Month, Kristen Renzi, Associate Professor of English at Xavier University, discussed the women whose experience navigating pregnancy and motherhood brought them into contact with the Foundling Hospital. Kristen was in discussion with Carol Harris, a writer and speaker who produces content for talks, exhibitions, and events on the history of the charity as Coram’s historian.
“His Innocent Subjects”: A Historical Exploration of the ‘Deserving’ and ‘Undeserving Poor’: Monday 29 January, 6 – 7.30pm, online
The dichotomy of the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving poor’ can be traced back centuries, but still carries considerable weight in the popular perceptions and political narratives that surround socio-economic need. Please join us and our panel of speakers (Polly Toynbee and Professor Harriet Ward) to examine how our understanding of poverty and need has evolved, or not, since the time of Thomas Coram, and the impact this has on the contemporary world.
No Place Like Home: The Story of the Foundling Hospital – Film Screening and Panel Discussion: Monday 20 November 2023, 6pm – 7.30pm, online
To celebrate World Children’s Day, Coram Society hosted an online screening of a documentary film created as part of Coram’s ‘Voices Through Time: The Story of Care’ programme. Made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, this documentary tells the story of the Foundling Hospital and the children who grew up there from 1741 to 1954.
Forgotten Foundlings? Voicelessness and invisibility in the story of care: Monday 30 October 2023, 6 – 7.15pm, online
Coram Society and In Between Lines held an online event marking the close of Black History Month 2023. This year’s event centred on the voices of those that have been missing from the historical record, as well as the experience of our speakers and young people in the Voices through Time: The Story of Care programme.
Become a member
There is no joining fee but we are grateful for donations to support the work of Coram.
You don’t need to be a Coram Society member to join our events, but you will be the first to know about any new events if you sign up for our email updates. Please email events@coram.org.uk for more information or sign up using the form below.
Sign up for the Coram Society
Learn more about Coram’s history
We are digitising the oldest records in our archive to preserve Coram’s unique history, help care-experienced young people connect with their predecessors, and enrich thinking about care today.
Read more