NSPCC appeal aiming to raise £3m reaches halfway point

NSPCC appeal aiming to raise £3m reaches halfway point

An NSPCC Cymru / Wales appeal which aims to raise £3 million in three years has reached its halfway point ahead of schedule.

The charity’s Wales Appeal Board is committed to reaching the ambitious target so the leading children’s charity can continue to carry out its work across Wales to protect children from abuse and neglect.

This includes NSPCC services like Speak Out Stay Safe – an innovative programme which helps to equip primary schools pupils with the skills they need to recognise abuse and speak out about it.

In Wales in 2016/17 specially-trained volunteers spoke to more than 69,000 children and visited over 520 schools to deliver the service. Entirely reliant on donations, Speak Out Stay Safe aims to visit every primary school once every two years and further interest can be registered by teachers via the NSPCC’s website.

Current and former Welsh international rugby players have all recently helped to deliver the service in support of the NSPCC Cymru / Wales appeal and many have revisited their former schools.

Gethin Jenkins, Ryan Jones, Martyn Williams, Tom Shanklin and Rob Howley have all joined volunteers to speak to pupils in Beddau, Newport, Pontypridd, Tenby and Bridgend. A special Welsh language event with Ysgol Pen-y-Garth – in the week of the 2017 Six Nations clash with England – also included Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Leigh Halfpenny, Ken Owens and Gareth Davies.

Other services benefitting from the charity’s fundraising include Childline – which undertook more than 8,800 counselling sessions with children from Wales in 2016/17 – and Protect and Respect, which helps children and young people who are deemed to be at risk from grooming and other forms of child sexual exploitation. That service is delivered at the charity’s three service centres, in Cardiff, Prestatyn and Swansea.

A number of recent events have been held across Wales to raise awareness of the charity’s work and have significantly contributed to the appeal’s ambitious target. These have included a special race day at Chepstow Racecourse, which raised more than £35,000 in April, and the Snowdon Moonlight Challenge – an overnight trek in July which raised more than £50,000.

A hat-trick of events also raised more than £100,000 in less than two weeks earlier this year. A private dinner at the House of Commons, a race day at Ffos Las Race Course and a golf day at the Vale Resort in Hensol all raised thousands of pounds in the space of 11 days.

Welsh international businessman Alan Peterson is the NSPCC’s Wales Appeal Board Chairman.

He said: “Raising £1.5m is a phenomenal achievement and I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been involved in this appeal so far – but there’s a lot more to do after reaching the halfway point.

“We are absolutely committed to fighting child abuse across Wales and this programme of fundraising work has only just begun. We’re calling for as many people as possible to lend their support to this campaign and to help us fight for every childhood.

“My family and I have a long history of supporting the NSPCC and there’s never been a more important time to ensure we do all we can for this hugely important cause.”

Head of NSPCC Cymru / Wales, Des Mannion, said: “This hugely welcome appeal is helping the NSPCC to continue its hard work in Wales and I am delighted that we have reached this significant landmark.

“The services that will benefit are committed to helping children who’ve been abused to rebuild their lives, protecting children at risk and finding the best ways of preventing child abuse from happening in the first place.

“We rely on donations and the good will of communities in making that happen and I’d like to thank everyone who has played a part in this appeal so far.”