Proclaim your love from the Fourth Plinth

BT employee Jonathan Harkins, 41, will proclaim up to sixty public messages of love from Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth to raise funds for ChildLine this Thursday (16 July).

People can send Jonathan their short messages of love to a special someone by texting ONELOVE followed by their message to 60155. Texts cost £3 and £1.90 from every text will be donated to ChildLine as part of the NSPCC’s Child’s Voice Appeal. 

Jonathan will broadcast the public’s messages of love from the Fourth Plinth between 11am and 12pm Thursday 16 July. Messages will be selected at random to be written up onto a large board, and each message displayed for one minute.

Donations and messages can also be sent online at https://www.donate.bt.com/onelove.html.

Jonathan Harkins said: “What message of love would you send from what is currently the most watched place on earth? A proposal of marriage? Or simply tell your children how much you love them? Whoever you want to express your love for this is your chance to tell the world how much you love them.

“For one amazing hour I will become a ‘human telegraph’ broadcasting personal messages of love to the world. And every message sent will help ChildLine hear more children in desperate need, many of whom never hear anyone tell them they are loved.”

Since ChildLine joined with the NSPCC three years ago, the NSPCC has enabled ChildLine to expand its service to try and meet the huge demand from young people, and now has more volunteer counsellors, more bases, and answers more calls than ever before. Nevertheless, ChildLine is still only able to answer two-thirds of the 2.3m calls it receives every year. 

Sue Minto, head of ChildLine, said: “Around one in ten children in the UK grow up feeling unloved.2 It doesn’t have to be like this. All children should be loved, valued and able to fulfil their potential.

“At ChildLine we want to reach more children, whatever their problem. The NSPCC is running a three-year Child’s Voice Appeal to raise £50 million to maintain and grow its helplines, text and online counselling services, including ChildLine.

“I want to say a huge thank you to Jonathan, BT and the public for supporting ChildLine as part of the NSPCC’s Child’s Voice Appeal.”

Originally from Paisley, Jonathan currently lives in Dalkeith, Midlothian with his wife and three children. Jonathan has worked as Project Director at BT in Edinburgh for the last eight years, and in his spare time enjoys cooking, painting, golf and fly fishing.  

One & Other is commissioned by the Mayor of London in partnership with Sky Arts. Watch all the action live from the plinth every Friday at 7pm on Sky Arts 1/HD and online at www.oneandother.co.uk

1. Each text message sent to 60155 will cost £3 plus the service provider’s standard text message rate. The total cost is dependent on the individual network. Suitable messages will be chosen at random to be displayed from the Fourth Plinth. Approximately £1.90 from every text will be donated to ChildLine, a service run by the NSPCC. NSPCC registered charity numbers 216401 and SCO37717.

2. From a survey of 1795 adults carried out for the NSPCC by BMRB between 27 July to 9 August 2006. More about:  One Child in Ten Grows Up Feeling Unloved 

About the NSPCC
The NSPCC is the UK’s leading children charity specialising in child protection and the prevention of cruelty to children. The NSPCC’s purpose is to end cruelty to children FULL STOP. The NSPCC runs projects and services across the United Kingdom and Channel Islands, including ChildLine, the UK’s free, confidential 24-hour helpline for children and young people. The NSPCC helps over 10,000 children and their families every year.
About the Child’s Voice Appeal
The government has pledged £30m over four years towards the expansion of ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline, but the NSPCC needs the support of the public to raise a further £50m through the Child’s Voice Appeal, to make its vision to answer many more cries for help a reality. Everyone can support the Child’s Voice Appeal at www.childsvoiceappeal.org.uk