Kidsline Grabs a new buddy

Media release
6 December 2011

Kidsline Grabs a new buddy

GrabOne, New Zealand’s leading daily deal website, is pleased to announce its new partnership with Kidsline, a free peer counselling service for children under 14.

Today GrabOne launches their Kidsline donation campaign on their website allowing customers to donate $5, $10, $20 or $50 to the charity.

GrabOne CEO and Founder, Shane Bradley, understands the need for such a service, which enables young New Zealanders to speak about any issue without judgement. “Kidsline is a fantastic service for Kiwi kids ensuring that someone is always there to listen. As a company we feel passionate about using our expertise and size to help them grow and provide support to more young children all over New Zealand.”

Kidsline currently answers in excess of 5,000 phone calls a year, tackling issues from friendship difficulties and bullying, through to abuse and neglect. “Often the children who call us feel they have no-one else they can talk to, and can be very distressed,” Lifeline Aotearoa’s CEO Jo Denvir says.

“With the support from GrabOne and their customers we plan to expand the hours Kidsline is available, as well as developing some great resources and outreach programmes for primary and intermediate schools throughout New Zealand. The opportunity to grow and develop through a partnership with a dynamic organisation like GrabOne is very exciting,” she adds.

Kidsline relies on volunteers with specially trained “Buddies” (just a few years older than the callers) acting as a sympathetic older brother or sister who understands what they’re experiencing and feeling.

“We were drawn to and inspired by these young individuals behind the phone who obviously have a huge amount of respect and understanding for what these younger kids are going through. It’s pretty impressive and something I personally want to see flourish and grow. This is a real partnership, not just a sponsorship and GrabOne is thrilled to sit alongside them,” Bradley says.

GrabOne funding has enabled Kidsline to redesign their website which was launched last week.

For more information visit www.grabone.co.nz or the new Kidsline website www.kidsline.co.nz


Editor’s notes

GrabOne: GrabOne is New Zealand’s most popular daily deal site. Since its launch in July 2010 GrabOne has sold over 2,633,599 vouchers, saving Kiwi’s $130,946,528.

Kidsline: Kidsline is a long running service of Lifeline Aotearoa, a registered not-for-profit counselling organisation. Kidsline is best described as a free, confidential, brief-intervention, near-peer telephone counselling service for children up to 14 years of age. It has over 70 telephone counsellors (Buddies) managed by a supervision and training team and overseen by the Kidsline Manager. Kidsline is uniquely about kids being there for other kids – they are the only national child helpline in the world where every counsellor is a secondary school student. Kidsline receives no government funding.

Children can call Kidsline free from anywhere in New Zealand or from any mobile phone to 0800 KIDSLINE (0800 543 754). Visit Kidsline online at www.kidsline.org.nz

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