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    Posted by Editor on 29th January 2012 at 08:20 PM Esther Rantzen CBE to visit ChildLine Manchester to commemorate 25 years of helping children
In celebration of ChildLine’s 25th Anniversary, ChildLine founder and TV presenter, Esther Rantzen CBE, will visit the Manchester ChildLine base on Monday 30 January to pay tribute to volunteers and counsellors. ChildLine, the UK’s free 24-hour confidential helpline for children and young people, has been providing support and advice across the UK since 1986. Over the last 12 months, ChildLine has counselled more than 265,000 children and young people nationally. Last year, the Manchester base received almost 25,0001 contacts from children from across the UK, either by phone or through its online service. During her visit, Esther will take time out to personally thank volunteers and staff for helping the service be there for children and young people over the past 25 years. This year also marks the 20th birthday of the base in Manchester, which Esther herself opened on 23 November 1992. Esther Rantzen CBE said: “I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful ChildLine volunteers and supporters at our Manchester base, because without them this vital lifeline for children and young people could not continue. “ChildLine is a vital lifeline for thousands of young people who desperately need support and advice with problems they dare not share with anyone else, such as bullying, self-harm, sexual and physical abuse and depression. Our trained counsellors work around the clock to ensure that the most vulnerable young people can get the protection and support they need, transforming and sometimes even saving precious young lives. “Up till now, many children had to try many times before they could get through to ChildLine. It makes me especially proud in our 25th anniversary year that we can say, for the first time in ChildLine’s history, we can now answer almost every call the first time a child rings.” Esther will recognise a number of supporters during her visit including ChildLine volunteer, Trudy Barres, age 76, from Prestwich who has volunteered in Manchester for almost 17 years. She said: “When my husband died, I had a lot of time on my hands so I decided to volunteer for ChildLine. The service has developed so much over all these years, but I still really enjoy meeting new people and get a great deal from helping ChildLine in any way I can”. Businessman and chair of the ChildLine ball committee in Manchester, Michael Josephson, age 36, will also be personally thanked by Esther for helping to raise over £175,000 at the annual North West ball during the past eight years. This year’s ball on 3 March at the Hilton on Deansgate, aims to raise £100,000 for ChildLine. Michael recently won ChildLine’s Dedicated Supporter Award and was presented a Patron’s Award by HRH the Countess of Wessex at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace. ChildLine services manager at the Manchester base, Kemi Olubodun, said: “We’ve achieved so much and I can’t thank our local volunteers and supporters enough. But we urgently need people to fill four shifts on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. You don’t need to have formal training or qualifications in counselling to apply as we will provide full training to all successful applicants. All you need is a commitment to children and young people, an open mind and an ability to listen and support young people who need to talk.” Anyone over the age of 16 can volunteer for ChildLine and the NSPCC welcomes applications from all walks of life. Potential volunteers will initially need to commit to 50 hours for training and assessment. They will then be required to do a weekly shift for a minimum of 12 months. If you would like to apply to become a volunteer counsellor at the ChildLine base in Manchester, please NSPCC Helpline for adults worried about the welfare of a child – 0808 800 5000 / text 88858 / email help@nspcc.org.uk /
For more information about the NSPCC Childline call ChildLine – 0800 1111 or click here Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
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