On Thursday the 16th of March 2017, Forensic Focus sponsored a golf day for Childline, who provide a free, confidential service to young people who need to talk.
About Childline
Childline’s goal is to help people up to the age of 19 with anything they may need to discuss, whether that is problems at home or school, difficulties with friendships or exams, or any other kind of life stress young people may encounter.
Founded in 1986 by Dame Esther Rantzen, the service merged with the NSPCC in 2006 in order to enable them to help more people and work more closely with other agencies in the augmentation of children’s services in the UK.Demand for the service is constantly growing. In 2015-2016, more than 300,000 counselling sessions took place via Childline’s bases around the UK. Childline started as a helpline counselling service, which it still runs. In recent years a 1-2-1 chat option has also been added, which allows young people to talk via instant messenger to counsellors online. The service is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
The Golf Day
The golf day was held at Surrey National Golf Club on the 16th of March. There were 78 attendees on the day, who played an 18-hole stableford better ball competition. Prizes at the end of the day were given out for the best overall scores, as well as ‘nearest the pin’ and ‘longest drive’ prizes.
At the end of the day, there was an auction during the evening meal. Items sold included a signed Tottenham Hotspur football shirt, an overnight stay in Pegwell Bay, a home cooked meal by an award-winning chef, a vintage fishing rod, and lots more! There was also a raffle at the end of the auction, so no one went home empty-handed. A quiz was then held, which was jointly won by five teams, all of whom got all the answers correct. Prizes of a sleeve of golf balls each were given out for the quiz winnings.
Overall, the day raised over £5,000 for Childline, which will help young people all over the UK who need to talk to counsellors at all times of the day and night.
