National Youthline link made possible by Rotary

Telephone calls from distressed youth will be able to be answered no matter where you are, is the promise behind a new national telephone link for Youthline made possible by a Rotary Club of Wellington grant.

The national charity is run by local volunteers. It receives thousands of calls - but calls go unanswered if the local service is not staffed.

Thanks to an establishment grant from Rotary Club of Wellington, calls will shortly be able to be re-directed to another in the national youth network. It will make better use of the trained volunteers around the country.

Youthline's national director, Stephen Bell says: "Through communities working together, Youthline's throughout the country are working in unison to add capacity so we can answer the calls made to us."

"The need has long been obvious, but it needed funding."

That is now available from work done by Rotary Club of Wellington with the active support of the Governor-General, patron of Youthline. The bulk of the funding has come from a dinner hosted by the Governor General, and organised by the RCW.

Globally, Rotary is focussing on youth projects for the 2003/04 year. Youthline's call redirection service was considered an outstanding need for New Zealand.

On Monday 6 October, Club President Brian Lynch will hand over $15,000 to Stephen Bell at the Club meeting.

© Scoop Media