READERS may not realise how many people in the South-West give up their time and skills to ChildLine, the UK's free, 24-hour helpline for children and young people.
In the wake of Volunteers' Week (June 1-7) may I thank publicly every reader who has donated their skills, time, energy and enthusiasm to supporting ChildLine's work over the past year.
Without local volunteers we simply couldn't help the thousands of children who turn to us each year for comfort, advice and protection -- more than 1 million of them since ChildLine began in 1986.
We rely on the generosity of people across the UK to help us reach out to children in danger or distress, wherever they are calling from.
Volunteers at our Newton Abbot counselling centre, and across the UK, play a vital role in answering children's calls for help, working in schools, helping with administration and raising vital funds.
Our volunteers' willingness to help desperate children who have nowhere else to turn shows how compassionate and generous they are. ChildLine simply could not exist without them.
On behalf of every child whose life we have saved, who has found new hope and who can face a happier future, may I say a heartfelt thankyou to our volunteers in the South-West.
ESTHER RANTZEN OBE Founder and Chair, ChildLine
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article