Selfless NSPCC Cymru/Wales volunteers helping keep children safe this Christmas

• Dedicated Denbighshire volunteers raise more than £100,000 in two years to protect children from abuse
• Local children benefit from charity’s direct services, and free ‘Speak out. Stay safe’ sessions in primary schools

Selfless volunteers for NSPCC Cymru/Wales in Denbighshire will continue to serve the community of Dyserth and surrounding areas this Christmas, to help local children and their families.

Year-round, an army of Denbighshire and Flintshire residents volunteer their time each week at the children’s charity’s store in the village. The common thread being their shared passion for wanting to protect local children from harm and support them and their families during the hardest of times.

It’s a long-standing tradition in the community with the NSPCC Cymru/Wales’ fundraising committee in Dyserth formed more than 90 years ago to help raise funds for the children’s charity.

At the forefront was Elsie Manning, who now aged 94, continues to volunteer her time at the village’s NSPCC charity shop, and remains President of the local Fundraising Branch.

The idea for a charity shop in the village was raised after volunteers hosted a series of pop-up shops as stores became vacant to raise funds. From humble beginnings, the idea escalated – in 2003 the first permanent shop was opened and last year the volunteers moved to a bigger premise in the heart of the village.

The shop situated just behind the High Street in Dyserth, is now regarded as the hub of the community, thanks to the 65-strong team of dedicated volunteers.

Driven forward by Elsie, the tradition has been passed down through generations of villagers and now, Jenny Christian, chairs the Flintshire and Denbighshire Fundraising Branch, having started volunteering for the charity in the 1980s.

Mother-of-three, Jenny, said: “When we opened our first store it was extremely sparse inside, and now we are floor to ceiling with items to sell. We are lucky to have such unbelievable support from the community and we really feel like we’re the hub of it for many people who live here.

“It’s lovely knowing that we’re helping children and families who need the help of the NSPCC, and as a community we are very lucky to have the service centre nearby.”

The shop, which has raised more than £100,000 since it moved location in 2018, is located not far from the charity’s North Wales Service Centre in Prestatyn, which is one of three sites across Wales, and all the money raised goes back into the charity’s local services.

Staff at the service centre provide therapeutic support to children who have been sexually abused, through its Letting the Future In programme. They also help children in care to get back on track if there are concerns about their emotional well-being through the Life Story Work service, and are working with young people who may be at risk of, or experiencing, exploitation with the Protect and Respect service.

Local primary schools benefit from the charity’s Schools Service that offers free interactive safeguarding sessions to all primary schools in North Wales.

In the last academic year, trained volunteers and staff visited 58 schools across Denbighshire and Flintshire, delivering ‘Speak out. Stay safe’ assemblies and workshops to more than 10,700 children. The programme helps children know about the different types of abuse, how to recognise the signs, and identify trusted adults they can speak to if they ever have a worry or concern.

Jenny added: “It is such a good feeling knowing that we are helping local people and children from further afield. And it’s lovely to see how the NSPCC has grown since I started volunteering – the charity now has the Childline service which it runs. And it’s just very rewarding.

“I think I’ve done more for the NSPCC in my life than I have for anything else. I just love it, it is part of my life now.”

Annette Edwards has been volunteering with the NSPCC for 15 years.  The Chair of Dyserth NSPCC shop said: “I started because I was giving up smoking and I wanted to be out of the house, and it very quickly transformed into a very different habit – volunteering, and helping others. It’s brilliant, and it’s been well-worth getting involved.

“We have 65 volunteers who man the store week-in, week-out and without them we simply couldn’t raise the money we do to help so many children and their families. They are an outstanding bunch of women and men, they are just phenomenal.”

Volunteers from the shop recently raised £700 hosting a fashion show of donated clothes and accessories. Family and friends supported the event at Dyserth Community Hall, in which all items were sold.