Birstall mum's Christmas challenge to fight against cruelty to children

Diane Chapman, 44, is opening an advent calendar with a difference, as she aims to run 10km (six miles) every day from December 1 – including two on Christmas Eve - to support the NSPCC and Childline as the charity battles to be here for children this festive period.

The mum-of-two has called her challenge the ‘Advent Call-endar’, as every £4 raised by her efforts will mean Childline counsellors can answer a call, email or message from a young person who is struggling this Christmas.

Mrs Chapman completed a similar challenge in 2010, and said this year’s event would be 'tougher but equally rewarding'.

She said: “It’s going to be a lot harder on me this time around as I’m 10 years older, but I’ve managed to convince friends and family to support me each day and join me on the runs.

“I’ve been overwhelmed with the number of people who have said they can’t run 10km but would do 10,000 steps every day in December or stop smoking because they wanted to run a 10km with me but not be out of breath.”

Mrs Chapman said the decision to complete the challenge in support of the NSPCC was made after she discovered Childline delivered 6,566 counselling sessions over the 12 days of Christmas last year.

These calls included a 26% increase in counselling sessions about suicidal thoughts and feelings compared to the previous Christmas.

She said: “I know how children are struggling and reaching out more during the pandemic.

"I wanted to know who I could support with the challenge, and when I saw social media posts about the increased number of children contacting Childline, I decided to do it to raise money to help answer those calls.

“This year has been emotional rollercoaster.

"I do find with running that I go out sometimes filled with a lot of thoughts, and I go out on the run and leave them all on the pavement, and I come back feeling so much better.

"It’s given me a different focus. It’s easy to panic at the moment with everything that’s going on with Covid, but this just helps pull me back and focus and hopefully it’s a bit of positivity to be shared.”

Elaine Kaye, Community Fundraising Manager for the NSPCC, said: “Diane’s challenge is an absolutely amazing undertaking, and we’re hugely grateful for her choosing to support Childline this year.

“Many children have been hidden victims of the pandemic – suffering abuse and neglect at home, increased risk online, or further pressures on their mental health.

"Thousands of young people will feel the desperate need to speak to our counsellors over the festive period, and while we don’t yet know how many children we’ll speak to this Christmas, we know we’ll be doing everything we can to support them and Diane’s amazing fundraising will help ensure we’re there for children when they need us most.”

To donate to Diane’s Advent Call-endar challenge, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dianeschristmascallometres, and to find out more about supporting the NSPCC, go to www.nspcc.org.uk