|
CHILDLINE APPEALS FOR MORE MERSEYSIDE VOLUNTEERS
CHILDLINE in
Liverpool is appealing for more volunteers to support its newly
opened counselling service in the region. The children’s
helpline – which is a service provided by the NSPCC – launched a new
counselling base in March this year which was officially opened by
the ChildLine founder, Esther Rantzen.
The Liverpool service has already recruited a team of dedicated
volunteers, who currently cover a number of shifts from Monday to
Sunday. However the base is keen to expand its capacity and answer
more calls from children who need someone to turn to.
Volunteer information meetings will be held this month to give
people who are interested in volunteering the chance to find out
more about ChildLine and the different opportunities that are
available to support the service. These include administration
support, outreach work in schools, switchboard operation and
counselling.
Chris Dunn is the volunteer co-ordinator for ChildLine North West.
He said:- “We’ve already begun to establish a great team of
volunteers in Liverpool and we’re now at the stage where we want to
welcome more people to support children and young people.
There are a number of different volunteering roles that people with
different interests and skills can help with.
You don’t need any
previous experience because we provide comprehensive training for
all our volunteers and offer ongoing support and development
opportunities.
Our volunteers tell us they get a great deal
from their work with ChildLine and I would encourage anyone who is
thinking about it to come along to one of our information meetings
and find out more.”
The appeal for volunteers comes at a time when the charity is asking
schools across Merseyside to display new ChildLine posters to help
remind children and young people that the free, confidential
counselling service is there for them, whatever the worry, big or
small. Additional online support on coping with exam stress
will also be available from this month via the all new ChildLine
website. The additional advice and information is particularly
timely with SATS and exams approaching, as across the country it is
clear from calls to the ChildLine service that exams can lead to
feelings of stress and pressure to perform.
The Liverpool ChildLine counselling service is based in the purpose
built Hargreaves Centre which recently celebrated its first year of
offering a safe haven for children and young people across
Merseyside.
Volunteering opportunities are available to everyone aged 16+ and
information meetings will be held on Tuesday, 20 May 2008 at 6pm and
Wednesday, 28 May 2008 at 6pm and Sunday, 1 June 2008 at 1pm at the NSPCC Hargreaves Centre, 112 Great Homer Street, in Everton. To
register for a meeting and for an information pack contact ChildLine
North West on 0870 336 2920. |
Recycling your old car could earn you £100
THE majority
of Britain’s car owners are still unaware that they could face
prosecution and heavy fines if they don’t get rid of their old cars
in an environmentally sound way. So says car disposal experts
Recycleyourcar.co.uk, which launched a new initiative that could
earn drivers £100 when they dispose of their old cars in line with
new laws.
Recycleyourcar.co.uk is a website that helps car owners understand
and comply with the European Union’s End-of-Life Vehicle directive,
which stipulates that when cars reach the end of their life they
must be disposed of in an environmentally sound way. The site is
offering car owners the chance to win prize money when they leave
feedback on the quality of the service received from an Authorised
Treatment Facilities (ATF) in the Recycleyourcar.co.uk network.
Each month, those drivers that complete the online feedback form
will be entered into a draw to win £100. Customers are invited to go
online and rate the level of service they received and can also
leave any additional feedback. The initiative is a way for
Recycleyourcar.co.uk to monitor the quality of its network members
and also a way for individual ATF’s to monitor the service they
provide.
“The £100 prize is our way of saying thank you to our
customers who have taken the time to reflect on the service of our
member ATFs. It is of great importance to us that our service is of
the highest quality possible, so car owners can dispose of their old
cars in a trouble-free way,” explained
Recycleyourcar.co.uk’s Simon Palmer.
EU legislation places responsibility with the last owner of a
vehicle for ensuring it is disposed of in the correct manner at an
ATF, where they will be issued with a Certificate of Destruction (CoD).
Not only could the incorrect disposal of a vehicle cause
environmental damage, but it could also land the last registered
owner in legal and financial trouble, including being liable for
continued road tax bills.
Under the Clean Neighbourhood Act, 2005, a
local authority is now able to issue a £200 fixed penalty for the
dumping of a car and under the Refuse Disposal Act, an illegal
dumper could be fined up to £2,500 and face three months in prison.
Drivers wishing to find their nearest ATF should go to
www.recycleyourcar.co.uk. |
