SITTING in the boardroom of her business dressed in a smart suit, Joanne Mahoney is every inch the picture of success.

But her story could have had a much less happy ending, for Joanne's mother suffered an illness that meant she struggled to look after her and six weeks after Joanne was born she was put into foster care.

Joanne was taken in by a couple who have fostered more than 600 children, and unlike unfortunate youngsters who may find themselves going from one foster home to another, this family was to become her own.

"Life was good for me growing up, don't get me wrong," said Joanne, who shares her story to mark awareness campaign Fostering Fortnight, which ends on Sunday. "But it was emotional because I had a real family that I still saw, and still do now, and I also had a pretend family.

"It was difficult because for the first 13 years of my life I didn't know who I was, or whether I was coming or going."

For Joanne, what made it even more painful was the cruel taunts and bullying she suffered from classmates as soon as she started school aged five.

"I still had my birth surname but obviously lived with people with a different name and the kids found out," she said. "They used to call me Oliver Twist and say things like 'please sir, can I have some more', which hurt."

Desperate to try to banish the bullying, Joanne pleaded with her social worker to change her surname. Then Joanne was overjoyed when her foster parents decided to adopt her.

"I started high school with a new name and a new family and I was happy," she said. "But the other children found out about my upbringing and always had this thing about me because I had been a foster child."

As Joanne struggled to cope with her family circumstances she began to rebel, eventually being expelled from Bishop Perowne CE High School, in Worcester.

At the age of 16 her adopted parents paid for her to attend a private college to train as a secretary, but that was not the end of her rebelliousness.

"They'd give me the money each week to pay for the course, but I managed to get the qualification really quickly and told them I was still going," said Joanne. "They kept giving me the money and I spent it on myself."

Eventually Joanne started to sort herself out, getting a job as a secretary for a law firm then a constructors, before going on to have her two children, Ben, now aged 16, and Lucy, 12.

"After Lucy was born I did every job under the sun from working in a chip shop to cleaning houses," said the 35-year-old.

Joanne feared she would never discover a vocation she was passionate about, until her adoptive parents told her they were setting up an independent fostering agency and offered her the chance to get involved. "We worked from the basement of their house in Barbourne," smiled Joanne, recalling the struggle to get the business, Creative Child Care, up and running. "We had chipboard worktops, only one computer and a clapped-out old company car."

That was back in 1999. But today the picture couldn't be more different. Joanne is co-director of the firm, which has headquarters at Shire Business Park in Wainwright Road, Warndon, Worcester, a sub-office in Staffordshire and plans to expand further later this year.

"I had strong feelings about my time as a foster child. That's why I wanted to help start the agency," said Joanne, who is married to 43-year-old gardener Steve. Joanne is passionate about her job, and works tirelessly to ensure children are put into the most suitable foster places.

"I feel children, no matter who they are, deserve to have someone to believe in them and then they might start believing in themselves," she said.

"Life is frustrating and difficult enough for children in the care system. What they need is a safe, nurturing environment and family values. These children will then feel valued for once in their life."

Joanne is certainly familiar with these ideals, having a rather substantial extended family. She still sees her birth parents and natural sister, although tragically her natural brother was murdered eight years ago.

Her adoptive parents are her 'tower of strength', and she also has six adopted siblings.

"I don't look back and feel sorry for myself," she said. "I think it's life and it happens. "I had it easy to a certain degree. I've had unstable times in my life but it's nothing compared with the horrendous times other children have gone through."

Anyone interested in becoming a foster parent can call Creative Child Care on 01905 340230. Worcestershire County Council's fostering team is also in need of 25 new foster households in the county and anyone interested should log on to www.worcester shire.gov.uk/home/lp-standard-caring-index.htm or call free on 0800 0282158.