Ryanair has made a €100,000 Christmas donation to The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC).
The ISPCC has been Ryanair’s charity partner since 2015 and to date, the airline has donated over €675,000 as well as generating awareness of its 24-hour Childline listening service for children in Ireland.
Childline, as delivered by the ISPCC, is currently receiving over 400 online contacts, phone calls and texts every day and night from children and young people across Ireland – demonstrating the importance of its unwavering dedication to supporting children across Ireland.
The listening service hears every day from children who tell volunteers that they feel as though they are struggling to cope and talk about anxiety, loneliness, self-harm and challenges to their mental and emotional wellbeing.
Ryanair’s director of marketing Dara Brady said: "We are very proud to partner with the ISPCC, whose vital services are needed now more than ever, and we hope that this €100,000 donation will support the continuity of the 24-hour listening service, as children across Ireland face even more worries and anxieties in these uncertain times.”
ISPCC chief executive John Church said: “The events of the past two years have had the effect of pressing ‘pause’ on childhood and youth. Children and young people’s worlds have been upended and many are now turning to ISPCC to tell us how they feel anxious, lonely and upset and are struggling to cope. Many fear what they will wake up to on Christmas morning. They need to talk – and they need someone to listen to them and believe them.
"While children and young people continue to face difficulties, so too does the ISPCC’s ability to raise funds. We are hugely grateful to Ryanair and its staff and customers for their dedicated support which helps to keep us here for children 24 hours a day, every day. No child or young person should have to face their challenges alone – at Christmas time or at any time. With thanks to Ryanair and its customers, ISPCC will ensure children always have somewhere they can turn.”
