Photo by Tom Flynn Photography via MCD Productions
https://www.facebook.com/TomFlynnPhotography

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) is Ireland’s oldest and most well-known children’s charity.  The ISPCC has a long, proud history of service delivery and advocacy on behalf of children.  Their vision is to see an Ireland where all children are heard and valued, and their mission is to advocate on behalf of all children in Ireland and to provide a range of independent unique services which are preventative and empowering in nature.

The ISPCC advocates on behalf of and provides vital support services to children and their families all over Ireland. Along with the management of over 600 dedicated volunteers, who give freely of their time, they employ 90 skilled and professional individuals working in a range of settings including childhood support work, the Childline listening and online services as well as advocacy and fundraising.  Every member of the staff and volunteer team is committed to ISPCC’s vision of an Ireland where all children are heard and valued.

One of the things that makes the ISPCC different as a charity is the small amount of statutory funding which they receive for their work – generally only 10-15% of their total income. This is used to fund work in specific regional projects, which are based in the community supporting children and families experiencing difficulties. These projects operate under services level agreements. The ISPCC provide value for money and effective services through which they are committed to achieving positive outcomes for children and families.

The ChildLine Concert is an annual event to raise money for ChildLine, a 24-hour phone line that is dedicated to helping children, run by the ISPCC. The performers, organisers and venue all provide their services for free in order for all the money from ticket sales to go to the financial support and aid of ChildLine.

ChildLine needs donations.  The ISPCC says they need to raise 1.2m euros (£0.94m) to keep the 24-hour service operational.

The charity’s interim chief executive Caroline O’Sullivan said: “We have issued an emergency funding appeal as, for many children, Childline is the only support option available to them.

“The loss of the night service will have a huge impact on children in real need.” – BBC.co.uk

You can donate to Childline via this site.  Any amount will do, it all helps.

John and Edward were asked to perform at this year’s ChildLine Concert, which was held on Sunday 30 November, at Dublin’s Three Arena.  It was their fourth appearance, having previously performed in 2010, 2011 and 2012.  They were the third act of the night, following Olly Murs and Fresh Ré.  The twins performed with a live band, and premiered “Make Your Own Luck”, showcasing their vocal range in a Justin Timberlake-style song.  This was followed by “Free Spirit”, and lastly, “Ferocious”.  They announced each song by saying they’d written it, and what it was about, and had earlier tweeted:

Make Your Own Luck! This song is about moving forward and making and fulfilling your destiny we will be singing it at Childline

— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) November 30, 2014

Free Spirit is about being your own person and expressing how you feel! Living life and excelling to the max hope you enjoy it tonight! — JEDWARD (@planetjedward) November 30, 2014

Ferocious is finding your inner wolf and standing up for yourself and having a beating heart that will overcome any situation of bullying!

— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) November 30, 2014