Sam Warburton marks his own unforgettable day by funding all UK Childline centres for 24 hours

• The icon of Welsh rugby raised £100,000 for the NSPCC during his testimonial year, and will use £30,000 of that to fund the cost of running Childline nationally for one day.

• Sam chose his own special day – 14 July – for his donation to the ‘One Unforgettable Day’ scheme, which is his daughter’s birthday.

• He visited the NSPCC-supported counselling service in Cardiff and spoke to volunteers and staff about how they support children and young people who contact them.

WELSH rugby legend Sam Warburton is funding the running of the NSPCC’s counselling service Childline for a day across the UK – and has chosen his daughter’s third birthday to make the £30,000 donation.

The former British and Irish Lions and Wales captain made NSPCC Cymru/Wales the main charity beneficiary of his 2018-19 testimonial year.

After raising an amazing £100,000 in those 12 months for the leading child protection charity, Sam decided to use £30,000 of that total for the ‘One Unforgettable Day’ scheme which meets the cost of funding all 12 UK Childline centres for one whole day.

Childline provides round-the-clock free and confidential support for young people over the phone or online on a range of issues including self-harm, abuse and bullying.

Last year (2017-18) Childline carried out more than 8,000 counselling sessions with children from Wales with the most frequent concerns mental and emotional health, family relationships and suicidal feelings.

Sam recently visited Childline’s Cardiff base where he met staff and volunteers and learned more about their work to support children and young people.

And he has chosen his own unforgettable day – 14 July, when his first child Anna was born – as the date for his testimonial funding to be used to run Childline.

Sam said: “It’s nice to know that some of the money I was able to raise for the NSPCC can fund Childline for one day of the year. I’ve spoken to some of the volunteers in Cardiff and was blown away by what they do to help children.

“The volunteers are incredible. Meeting them and finding out about how they are helping young people – some in desperately sad situations – is a real eye-opener. The more help we can give these children by answering more calls, the better.

“It is quite a surreal, but lovely, feeling to know that the money that you’ve raised is going to help children across the UK and could potentially improve their lives.”

Sam added that having met the Cardiff volunteers he would encourage others to support Childline.

He added: “All the volunteers I have spoken to told me how rewarding working with Childline is, and to help the children who get in contact with them – even if it can be difficult at the same time.

“I would 100 per cent encourage people to volunteer. Chatting to some of the volunteers I found they all have different motivations for doing what they do, but the help they give children is incredible.”

On average, a child contacts Childline every 25 seconds and around 800 one-on-one counselling sessions are carried out daily.

The donations from ‘One Unforgettable Day’ will help those who require advice or help from Childline, as well as supporting the volunteers and staff at the other end of the phone line or online chat.

Hywel Peterson, the chair of the Sam Warburton Testimonial Year, said: “Childline is an incredibly vital service for children and young people in Wales and beyond and it is there for those who need it 24/7, 365 days a year.

“Without the help of supporters like Sam, Childline simply would not be able to function. We thank him for his support of this valuable service for the help it will give some of the most vulnerable in society.

“It’s essential that we are able to fund Childline properly and all donations mean crucial phone calls or online chats are answered, leading to a brighter future for a young person who may currently be forced to suffer in silence.”

A number of events to celebrate Sam Warburton’s career and achievements have been held over his testimonial year with NSPCC Cymru/Wales the main charity beneficiary.

They included a 007 James Bond themed event at the Hurlingham Club in London and a Jersey Boys Gala Dinner at City Hall in Cardiff, attended by the cast of the stage show.

He also returned to his old primary school in Cardiff to help with a delivery of the ‘Speak Out, Stay Safe’ assembly with the charity’s schools service.