Fund Childline and help a child every 45 seconds

Thanks to your donations, we can continue to support children when they need us most. Together, you have raised £13,460, which could help our trained volunteer counsellors answer over 3,350 children’s calls for help to Childline. 

Last year, Childline delivered over 160,000 counselling sessions with children and young people. That’s an average of around 13,500 counselling sessions a month.

Every way in which you support us will help Childline be there for even more children and young people – this quote from a Childline user helps bring to life the difference we’re able to make:

‘If it wasn’t for Childline, things would still be a mess. You’ve really helped and talking to someone about what’s happening has made me feel much better. I feel really grateful to know I can come back to Childline whenever I need to speak to someone. Thank you for caring.’ Boy, 16.

Rise in Summer Loneliness

The summer months should be a time of freedom and joy for children.  Sadly, we are seeing at Childline that it can also be a difficult period for some young people, with loneliness setting in.

From April 2024 to March 2025, Childline delivered over 4,500 counselling sessions about loneliness – an average of 380 per month. However, in July and August alone, we saw a noticeable increase, with 852 sessions focused on this issue. This pattern shows a clear seasonal rise in loneliness-related concerns as school ends and contact with friends and routines diminish. 

The main themes identified from these summer counselling sessions included:

• Worrying about a lack of contact with friends over the summer.
• Feeling left out of social activities.
• Anxiety about starting a new school or year group in September. 

One boy, aged 13, told Childline:  

“It’s the summer holidays where I live. I don’t have many people to talk to and one of my friends blocked me online for no reason. It kinda feels like no one likes me.” 

This is a powerful reminder of why our support is so vital. Childline continues to offer free, confidential support 24/7, both by phone and online, to children who are feeling lonely, anxious, or struggling with anything else on their minds. 

Thank you!

Over 80% of our funding comes from those who choose to give to us, and we are extremely grateful for the support we receive from those who have donated through GlobalGiving. 

It is only with your support that we can be there for every child, whenever and wherever they need us. In the face of new challenges, you are helping us create a safer world around them.

Together we can change children’s lives. Together we can stop abuse. 

Our Childline service continues to be here for children and young people who need us, with mental and emotional health and wellbeing remaining the top concern they reach out to us about. One girl, aged 14, recently contacted Childline saying 'I'm having problems with my friends but when I talk to my mum about it, she gets really upset and I feel worse. I'm really thankful to have Childline to come to, it makes these issues less tiring and overwhelming.'

Because of your donations, we can continue to give these young people the support they so desperately need. Together, you have raised £13,100, which has helped our trained volunteer counsellors answer over 3,200 children’s calls for help to Childline. 

Childline update: Behind the Screen

A new Childline campaign launched in February called “Behind the Screen”, to raise awareness of the sexually coerced extortion of boys and young men, also known as ‘sextortion’.

Perpetrators may not carry out their threats, but we know from the children and adults contacting our helplines that threats like this can be hugely distressing for the young people involved. Some of the young people who contacted Childline told us they felt lonely, ashamed, embarrassed, and afraid of what might happen.

One boy, aged 17, contacted Childline to say “Thank you for sharing Report Remove with me. I’ve been so stressed out about all this, I haven’t been able to sleep at night. I don’t even know if my nudes have been posted or not, but just knowing that something can be done about it is a massive relief. Thanks again for being so helpful and understanding.”

Through our new campaign, we want to raise awareness of this form of exploitation. We also want to reinforce that it’s OK for boys and young men to seek support for whatever they are going through – and that Childline is a place for them.

Thank you! 

Over 80% of our funding comes from those who choose to give to us, and we are extremely grateful for the support we have received from those who have donated.  

It is only with your support that we can be there for every child, whenever and wherever they need us. In the face of new challenges, you are helping us create a safer world around them.

Together we can change children’s lives. Together we can stop abuse.