News
On 14 June 2010, Michael Josephson – Buying Director at Stocks – was delighted to be presented with a Patron’s certificate acknowledging his incredible £100,000 pledge of support for the work of the NSPCC in the North West.
Thanks to the generous support of Stocks, ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline are being developed and promoted in order that all children & young people have somewhere to turn via the phone-lines, email and web, and that all adults know where to seek vital child protection advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Michael is pictured, receiving his certificate from Chairman of NSPCC, Sir Christopher Kelly.
A Night in Hollywood Childline Ball 2010 raises £53,000 for children
Stars including Corrie’s Craig Gazey and former Hollyoaks pranksters Max and OB walked the red carpet on Saturday 6 March to attend Manchester’s glamorous A Night in Hollywood ChildLine Ball at the Lowry Hotel which raised an outstanding £53,000 for the NSPCC.
The seventh ChildLine ball to be held in Manchester, 2010 proved to be the most successful event yet. The ball was sponsored by Jaguar and the Hollywood theme of glamour and luxury was mirrored in the raffle star prize of an exotic holiday and flights to Oman, donated by Emirates UK Tours and Six Senses.
The evening’s host Craig Gazey, who is currently appearing in Coronation Street, is no stranger to lavish award ceremonies having recently won Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards. He said “It was an amazing evening and it was fantastic that people were so generous despite the continuing economic difficulties.
“I was really excited to be involved with this year’s ball. It’s events like this that mean the charity is able to continue to provide support for so many children and young people. ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline for adults do such important work and I want to encourage everyone to give what they can because it all makes such a difference for children.”
The Hollywood theme was a huge success with guests wearing fabulous movie inspired dresses and suits – they were certainly giving the Oscars a run for their money in the glamour stakes!
Michael Josephson, Chair of the Childline Northwest Board Committee said: “I’m thrilled that the months of planning and preparation have paid off and we’ve raised such a fantastic sum for such vital work. It is so important that we continue to support ChildLine and the NSPCC as their services make such a huge difference in the lives of children and young people.
I would also like to say how grateful we are to all the people and companies who generously donated prizes for our raffle. It really made a difference in enabling us to raise such a terrific amount of money for such a fantastic cause.”
Proceeds from this year’s event will go towards the Child’s Voice Appeal which aims to raise £50m nationally so that the NSPCC’s vital helplines – including ChildLine – can answer many more cries for help. Manchester is home to a ChildLine base in the city centre and an NSPCC Helpline for adults concerned about a child based in Salford Quays.
Nathalie Coverley, fundraising manager for the NSPCC said: “I am delighted that the evening has been such a success. The work of our supporters, Michael and our ball committee has enabled us to raise vital funds to continue to enhance the support we can offer to children and young people. When a child needs help, ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline may be their only hope and we are determined that no cry for help goes unanswered.”
Please help to support the appeal at www.childsvoiceappeal.org.uk
The NSPCC’s Child’s Voice Appeal.
The Child’s Voice Appeal was launched to raise money for the NSPCC’s helplines and help transform ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline to answer many more children’s cries for help, so that whether they call, email, text or contact the charity online, help will be there.
Thanks to your donations and fundraising the charity has raised over half of the £50 million Child’s Voice Appeal target. Since the appeal launched, ChildLine has counselled over one million calls* – that’s the equivalent of over 13 capacity crowds at old Trafford or 33,000 classrooms full of children!
Young people can continue to call ChildLine on 0800 1111 but they can also now receive information and support via the website www.childline.org.uk and make contact with ChildLine through email, online message boards and one-to-one chats with counsellors. Already over 15,000 one-to-one chat sessions have taken place.**
The charity is also developing the NSPCC’s Helpline for adults, which enables us to help protect children who are too young or vulnerable to help themselves. The NSPCC Helpline service is UK-wide, but we do hear from many concerned adults across the North West. So far, nationally we’ve been able to answer over 50,000 calls from adults who are worried about a child through the NSPCC Helpline.
But there is still more work to be done to protect even more children and we urgently need to continue to raise funds to allow us to develop these services even further.
When a child has a worry they desperately need to tell someone about, or an adult is concerned for the safety and wellbeing of a child, no obstacles should prevent them getting the help and advice they need. Your ongoing support is critical in enabling us to train more counsellors and answer even more cries for help from children.
(* Please note that this is one million calls. The actual number of children may be lower due to repeat callers. ** 1 September 2009 – 31 December 2009)
I’m proud to say that I am Chair of the ChildLine Ball committee, leading the organisation of an annual ball in Manchester, which in 2010 raised in excess of £50,000. Stocks are huge supporters of these events, and we are proud to be associated with NSPCC ChildLine in the North West.
To find out more please get in touch with the NW Appeals Office, on 0161 628 1209, or email northwestappeals@nspcc.org.uk or click here to visit the site and donate to the Child Voice Appeal.
Best wishes,
Michael Josephson
The impact of your support
Help the NSPCC be there whenever and wherever children need us.
£4 could ensure that, when a child plucks up the courage to ask someone for help, we are there to answer their call.
£42 could pay for a child who may have nowhere else to turn to receive confidential, one-to-one counselling about any issue that’s important to them.
£180 could pay a trained practitioner to deliver one day of support through the NSPCC Helpline, to protect the most vulnerable children in society such as babies and toddlers who cannot call for themselves.
£1,600 could recruit and train a volunteer ChildLine counsellor, who in their first year will be able to help up to 200 children.
For more information or if you would like to donate to the Child’s Voice Appeal please visit www.childsvoiceappeal.org.uk
ChildLine is a service provided and funded by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). CHILDREN 1ST (RSSPCC) delivers the ChildLine service in Scotland on behalf of the NSPCC. NSPCC registered charity numbers 216401 and SC037717. CHILDREN 1ST registered charity number SC016092