Barnardo's Today for supporters Autumn 2015 Autumn 2016 | Page 12

Update Urgent appeal to help victims of child sexual exploitation raises £247,000 The sexual exploitation of children is an increasingly high profile issue that affects children of all backgrounds and from all communities across the UK. Barnardo’s is doing all we can to tackle the problem and support those who are affected. In recent years we have expanded our network of child sexual exploitation services to over 40 locations, and we offer more help for victims than anyone else. But with more and more children being identified as victims of abuse, we’ve found our services pushed to the limit. Earlier this year, we launched an urgent appeal to make sure more children receive the specialist support they need to help them to recover and escape from the vile cruelty they are suffering. Our supporters have been characteristically generous and have so far given £247,000 to help support our over-stretched services – but with an estimated 16,500 children at risk, we are still struggling to reach all those who need us. Our donation line for this appeal is still open. Please go to www.barnardos.org. uk/urgent or call us free of charge on 0800 008 7005 to donate. Thank you All donations made to our urgent appeal up until 31 March 2017 will be restricted to our child sexual exploitation services. Any regular gifts, or one-off donations sent in after this date, will be allocated to where the need is greatest. 12 Barnardo’s Today Autumn 2016