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Oh go on, please talk to us about runaway kids: Aviva will donate £2 to the charity Railway Children for every post!

230 replies

FrancesMumsnet · 03/10/2012 15:35

Did you know that it's thought that one child runs away from home or care every five minutes in the UK?

To help raise awareness, the charity Railway Children is working with Aviva to provide help and support to children who have run away from home, or are at risk of doing so.

They've also helped us to build some pages on why children run away and how to spot the warning signs.

What they would like now is to hear your thoughts. Do you have any experiences to share - either as a parent or maybe from your memories as a child? Do you have any thoughts on the issue in general - about public awareness and support for the work of the Railway Children, for example? Do you think most parents just assume this isn't a problem they'll likely have to deal with?

Do please come and add your thoughts here. For every contribution to the discussion, Aviva will donate £2 to the Railway Children. You can post a maximum of 3 times per thread.

Aviva will donate up to £100,000 between now and the end of 2012 as part of the Mumsnet campaign, and there's a few other ways you can donate more money.

(SURVEY NOW CLOSED) They'll also donate £2 for every person that completes this survey. Everyone who takes part and adds their details at the end will also be entered into a prize draw to win VIP rugby tickets (for a family of 4) to attend the Aviva Premiership Final in May at Twickenham, courtesy of Aviva (these can be passed on to family or friends if you win but are unable to attend).

And £2 for everyone who 'likes' and recommends this thread on Facebook (by clicking 'Recommend' at the top) and if you 'like' any of the articles here.

Do please join in and help that money stack up!

OP posts:
combinearvester · 03/10/2012 17:38

I didn't know how many children ran away tbh. I think more needs to be done with children in care as I suspect they make up a large proportion / run away more than once etc. Agree with what JulieW says about joint working too.

JulieW1966 · 03/10/2012 17:32

I work in the prison system with sufferers of severe mental illness, I have also worked with drug dependence, so many sad stories of abuse and obvious negative outcomes, I sometimes feel that charitable organisations can be disjointed, many working for the same outcome but with evident repetition. Some joint working would be more beneficial and I feel that the charity givers should be able to see where the money is spent as some feel that lots of money is spent on admin etc. A big well done to Aviva for there contribution, I hope it makes a difference !

TheMightyMojoceratops · 03/10/2012 17:21

I don't have much to add either. If I post to mark my place, does that count for the £2 donation?

Hesterton · 03/10/2012 17:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

UmamiOrange · 03/10/2012 16:47

I've nothing really useful to add, but clocking in to get the £2 for Railway Children!

I do think that most people probably do not realise the extent of the problem, or maybe assume that only children with a 'troubled' background will run away.

I cannot imagine what the parents of a runaway child go through or how they cope Sad

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