ISPCC Childline’s live online chat and text services are now available to every child and young person in Ireland 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with thanks to the support of Ryanair and its customers.
Childline provides a confidential, non-judgmental and non-directive listening service which listens to children and young people, believes them, supports them, empowers them and works to strengthen their resilience to help them cope with life’s challenges.
Any child or young person up to the age of 18 in Ireland can contact Childline online, by phone, or by text, to talk about any issue on their mind.
Over 12,000 contacts from children and young people were answered by Childline’s online chat and text services between the week ending March 15th, when schools closed, and the week ending June 28th, the day before many aspects of life in Ireland re-opened.
Ryanair customers in Ireland have supported Childline when booking flights online at Ryanair.com.ie since the airline’s digital donation facility launched in 2019.
This is the fifth year of Ryanair’s partnership with Childline. Over the course of the past four years, Ryanair has donated over €450,000 to help keep the service listening to children.
ISPCC Childline Chief Executive John Church said: “The generous support of Ryanair and its customers has helped make sure every child and young person in Ireland can access support, in the way they feel most comfortable, at any time of the day or night. This has never been more important than in recent months, when children’s lives have been turned upside down as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions.
“Children and young people have been reaching out to Childline for support online in ever increasing numbers. They have told Childline about experiencing issues including mental health difficulties, suicide ideation, abuse and violence, strains in family relationships and more. With thanks to Ryanair’s support, Childline is always here – no matter what. For this, we are hugely grateful.”
Dara Brady, Director of Marketing & Digital at Ryanair said: “We’re delighted that Ryanair customers choose to support Childline when they book their flights with us. Thanks to their donations, Childline have been able to make their vital online chat service available to children and young people 24 hours a day. We’re proud of our partnership with Childline, and thank our people and passengers for their continued generosity.”
