The founder of a national charity visited the north-east yesterday and appealed to residents to step up to protect local youngsters.
Dame Esther Rantzen, who helped set up ChildLine nearly 30 years ago, visited the charity’s base in Aberdeen with Lord Provost George Adam to meet some of the volunteers who provide a crucial lifeline to youngsters.
Calls from not just the north-east, but across the country, are handled by the team at Ruby House, who are trained to provide comfort and protection to children and young people.
The free 24-hour confidential helpline has had a base in the Granite City since 2004, and in the last year the team – along with their counterparts in Glasgow – have handled more than 47,000 counselling sessions on a range of worries including family relationships, bullying, cyber-bullying, sexting, self-harm and physical abuse.
Yesterday, television presenter Dame Esther and Mr Adam met some of the volunteers, who come from as far away as Moray to take calls.
And she appealed to people to consider getting involved, as the number of calls is expected to increase.
She said: “We have increased our capacity to support children and young people but we still need more volunteers to achieve our aim of answering every contact made by a child or young person in danger or distress.
“We are there for children, whenever and wherever they need us, so we also have a need for people who can handle switchboards, respond to e-mails and help children through one-to-one web chats.
“It is wonderfully rewarding work, transforming children’s lives and protecting them from pain. ChildLine counsellors often tell us that their weekly shift with us is the best part of their week.”
Mr Adam added: “Aberdeen is very proud to be home to this fantastic service which does so much to help children, some of whom are going through the most difficult time of their lives.
“On behalf of the city I want to give a heartfelt thanks to those citizens who give up their precious time to volunteer for ChildLine and help children in desperate need.”
Full training will be provided to volunteers, who just need an open mind and the ability to listen.
The charity will hold an open evening at its base on Thursday from 6pm-8pm for anyone interested in finding out more.
For more information call Kerri Stewart on 01224 973030 or visit
nspcc.org.uk/volunteer
.