COUNSELLORS for ChildLine in Nottingham had contact with 7,223 children in the 12 months up to April last year, either by phone or online.

Many children need to get in touch with ChildLine more than once, and Nottingham counsellors had more than 15,000 contacts with young people over that period.

But sadly, the base is unable to answer all of the calls it receives due to lack of resources.

This is why the Nottingham Post has teamed up with the NSPCC to try to raise £100,000 for the local ChildLine base, in Old Basford, and the NSPCC Helpline, which takes calls from adults who have concerns about a child.

We are challenging businesses to form fundraising teams and raise as much money as possible – with prizes for the most successful.

One Nottingham business already signed up to our challenge is Investment Sense, independent financial advisers based in High Pavement, in the Lace Market.

Practice manager Jane Bray knows first hand about the difference ChildLine can make as she volunteered as a counsellor for five years.

"I received a lot of calls about bullying and one or two were at the end of their tether. They seemed to want to end it and you had to help them through that," said Mrs Bray.

"I remember the training we received was really good. They really made sure that we were the right people to go on to the phones.

"Unfortunately some calls couldn't get through to the advisers because there weren't enough people to answer the calls. So when we were on the switchboard, unfortunately sometimes we had to say there was nobody at that time to answer the calls, which is a great shame really."

Although there are only seven members of staff at Investment Sense, the team aims to raise thousands of pounds.

Phillip Bray, marketing and relationship manager at Investment Sense, said: "The reason we wanted to support it was the fact there are a number of calls that go to ChildLine each day that don't get answered. Not all children who ring up are getting the support they need."

Investment Sense has organised three fundraising events, to which they are inviting their clients and contacts in order to raise as much money as possible.

The fundraising team has persuaded renowned business speaker Mike Southon to lead a networking event at Trent Bridge cricket ground, free of charge, on February 23. Tickets are £20 if booked before February 14 and £25 if booked after, with proceeds going to the Nottingham Post NSPCC Business Challenge.

A wine tasting night at Weavers of Nottingham is being held on the evening of Tuesday, May 24, and a golf day will be held the same month.

For more information on these events, contact Investment Sense on 0115 933 8433.

Nottingham Forest chairman Nigel Doughty and his wife Lucy are long-term supporters of the NSPCC and have donated large amounts of money through The Doughty Family Foundation.

Mr Doughty said: "Obviously it's an incredibly worthwhile cause. Everybody has an obligation and a responsibility if you have some surplus cash to ensure some of it goes to good causes.

"It is important to provide a safe and secure environment for future generations."

Fundraisers in the East Midlands need to raise £3.3 million to develop the ChildLine Nottingham base to allow more children to receive the help they require.

"It's a very straightforward idea," said Jenni Cowlishaw, NSPCC corporate fundraising manager for the East Midlands. "Companies and their staff simply have to raise as much as they can over three months and there are rewards for the team that does best, as well as individual prizes.

"We can't wait for this to start. We think it's going to be great fun and of huge benefit to the charity and to young people who need help. I'm sure the challenge will prove incredibly popular."

The NSPCC's Child's Voice Appeal has already allowed the charity to launch an online counselling service so that children can now get help via email, one-to-one chats and a message board on the ChildLine website – www.childline.org.uk

Miss Cowlishaw added: "The Child's Voice Appeal has enabled us to protect some of the most vulnerable, hard to reach children in the UK.

"We now make more referrals about children at risk and support many more children every day than before we launched the appeal.

"Every day, children are contacting ChildLine to talk about abuse and we need to make sure we are there to answer.

"Every day, adults are contacting the NSPCC Helpline with concerns about children who local authorities wouldn't otherwise know needed help."