Childline collectors are out in force around the country today as the ISPCC holds its first-ever national collection day.
Volunteers will be collecting all day long for the ‘Childline Change’ outreach, as the charity raises much-needed funds to keep its listening service running year round, 24-hours-a-day.
Members of the public are being urged to donate their change to allow the charity to keep answering calls to over 400,000 children every year.
Today is #ChildlineChange our national collection day! Please support us when you see our volunteer collectors and help us keep listening. pic.twitter.com/pFq5h97jWO
— ISPCC Childline (@ISPCCChildline) June 30, 2017
ISPCC director of fundraising Gill Waters said the charity needs to raise €4m to keep the service running – with 85% its budget drawn from fundraising.
The 24-hour helpline receives calls from 1,000 children every day and interim CEO Caroline O’Sullivan called on the public to “dig as deep as you can” to ensure the service remains available to children who “need somebody to be there to listen to them and to believe them.”
“Everybody talks about children and children’s charities,” she said. “There are lots of us out there.”
“But for Childline, this is the only children’s charity that is available 24-hours a day.
“We get children calling us at 2am in the morning crying, because they have nowhere else to turn and I think if anybody realised or could even hear some of the calls we get - we know that they would dig deep.”
If you don't get a chance to see one of our #ChildlineChange collectors during the day you can donate online here âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/wKcR1fL3DB pic.twitter.com/OeSYaJXOtr
— ISPCC Childline (@ISPCCChildline) June 30, 2017
For anyone who does not happen across a Childline collector today, donations can also be made by texting the word ‘Childline’ to 5300 or by visiting the website at: ispcc.ie/donate
Children can get in contact with Childline at any time by calling 1800 66 66 66.
