In January 2008 Towergate formed a partnership with
ChildLine, the free, 24-hour confidential helpline for children and
young people provided by the
NSPCC. Since its 1986 launch, ChildLine
has saved children's lives, found refuge for those in danger,
and given hope to children who believed no one else
cared.
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In recognition of the extraordinary level of support provided to
ChildLine in the first 18 months of the partnership, NSPCC granted
Patron status to Towergate in July 2009. Towergate, together with
its clients and staff, have enabled ChildLine to help more than
47,000 children.
Please see
map of ChildLine centres of where the counsellors are based
that Towergate has paid for.
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| ChildLine is launching an online and text service to reach
out to children in the way they feel most comfortable with.
Importantly, irrespective of whether a child uses text, online chat
or phone, every contact will be stored in one system. This makes it
easier for children to contact us whilst enabling our trained
counsellors to have a complete picture so they can understand the
issues and provide appropriate help. |
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Helping the NSPCC to help vulnerable
children
ChildLine provides help to the children who are able to call.
Not all children are able to get in touch with ChildLine and that’s
why the NSPCC is urging everyone to call its Helpline number if
they suspect a child is at risk of harm - 0808 800
5000.
Project that Towergate is supporting
Towergate is paying for the recruitment and training of
additional volunteer counsellors. It costs £1600 to
train a volunteer. Currently, a third of the
children who call ChildLine are unable to get through
to a counsellor as the demand for the service is so high.
The number of calls is expected to increase as ChildLine help
more children understand that they can talk to someone. Currently
only 25% of children that suffer abuse tell any one.
ChildLine's goal is to answer every call, email or text from every
child who needs help.
Sue Minto, Head of ChildLine says:
"For many children who call, it's the first time they have tried
to tell someone what they are experiencing. If a vulnerable child
summons the courage to call ChildLine and we are unable to answer
their call, it is a tragedy. Our vision is to answer every call and
never leave a child feeling afraid or alone. But we need help to
deliver our vision for children and we are delighted that Towergate
is joining us to make sure that we can be there for every child who
needs us."
Esther Rantzen, President of ChildLine and NSPCC Trustee
said:
“During 2008 Towergate staff and customers raised a fantastic
amount for ChildLine. This will enable more counsellors to be
recruited and trained which in turn will answer more calls from
children and young people. Thank you to everyone at Towergate who
has helped this to become a reality. With your support
ChildLine is able to answer many more calls from hundreds of
children and young people who are in distress or danger and
desperately in need of our help. Because of your support we will be
able to save young lives and protect children from pain - on their
behalf, thank you so much."
