The aim of Red Balloon Learner Centres is the recovery of bullied children. In each Centre we provide an ’intensive care’ full-time education for up to 15 children aged between 10 and 17 who are unable to go to school because they have been severely bullied. At least half of the students we take have attempted or seriously considered suicide. We promise the students whom we accept a safe environment with clear boundaries for behaviour, and an individual full-time academic, pastoral and therapeutic programme. Once the students have regained their confidence and are able to cope academically and socially, we support them in their return to mainstream school, their entry to further education or to employment. There are currently three Centres, in Cambridge, Norwich and North West London. Red Balloon Learner Centre - Liverpool will be housed in James Bulger House, and is expected to open in 2009.
Charity Registration No 1109606
£1m appeal to build James Bulger memorial to mark murdered tot's 18th birthday
The mother of murdered toddler James Bulger today launched an appeal to raise £1 million to fund a memorial to her son.She is backing the campaign by TV personality Esther Rantzen to create a Red Balloon Learner Centre for bullied children in Liverpool.James Bulger House would be the first of it kind in the North of England and the first tangible memorial to him in the city.Two-year-old James was abducted from a shopping centre and murdered on a railway line in Liverpool by ten-year-olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables on February 12, 1993.
Murdered: James Bulger would have been celebrating his 18th birthday on Sunday
This Sunday would have been James's 18th birthday.Denise, 38, said: “Nothing can ever bring back James and I have got to live with that knowledge.“His 18th birthday is going to be a particularly hard time for me and all our family, not having him with us."I will never forget my son and I still get messages of support from all over the world.“So, I was very pleased when Esther explained about her idea for a memorial to James."I have witnessed the work that Red Balloon does with bullied children and I am sure there is a very great need for a learning centre refuge for victims of bullying on Merseyside."I was shocked to learn how many children commit suicide every year because of bullying.“If James Bulger House can help save the life of just one child in that terrible situation then it will be a fitting tribute to my son.
Tribute: James Bulger's mother Denise Fergus with a picture of the two-year-old
"We need to raise £1 million to buy a house in Liverpool for Red Balloon. Any donation, no matter how small, will help raise the money we need."I am appealing to everyone for their support and I'm sure we can count on the public to be generous in making donations to this very worthy cause."Esther Rantzen was inspired to develop the idea of a memorial to James during a visit to Liverpool last year and she has enlisted Merseyside Chief Constable to chair the £1 million appeal.Esther said: "Next Sunday would have been James's 18th birthday.“No life has been more cruelly cut short than that lovely two-year-old, who was murdered 15 years ago."It is extraordinary that there is no memorial to him, no way for his family and his community to remember him with hope, to help other children in his name. Now there will be."With the help of people in Liverpool and around the world who love and care for children, together we will create James Bulger House, to protect our children and save more lives."The house will be run by the Red Balloon charity, who give hope to children who have been so badly bullied that their lives are at risk.
Appeal: TV personality Esther Rantzen is backing the campaign James Bulger House
“In James's memory, they will save and transform many more lives of Merseyside's children in the years to come."Dr Carrie Herbert, Founder and Director of Red Balloon, said: "To be able to set up a Red Balloon in Liverpool in memory of James Bulger is the most important development yet in our on-going work to help bullied children rebuild their lives.“Esther Rantzen is Patron of the Red Balloon charity which began in Cambridge and now has three centres, two in East Anglia and one in North London.She was inspired to develop the idea of centre in Liverpool as a memorial to James during a visit the city last year.Esther added: “Over the last 12 years, I have witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of both physical and psychological bullying.
"I'm pleased to think that - in partnership with Esther Rantzen, Bernard Hogan-Howe and Denise Fergus - Red Balloon will be able to ensure that James's tragedy is never forgotten and that young people in Liverpool who are subjected to all forms of bullying will have a precious and, in some cases life-saving, resource.â€Chair of the James Bulger House Appeal, Merseyside Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe said: “We need a Red Balloon Learner Centre here on Merseyside.“It will provide a vital safety net for children who are bullied to the point at which they find it difficult, or even impossible, to return to school."Red Balloon fulfills a need that is just not provided elsewhere. One million pounds is an ambitious target but I am convinced that, if the whole county pulls together, we can raise the funds so that our region can be the first in the north of England to develop this valuable resource."
Donations may be sent to:- Red Balloon James Bulger House Appeal PO Box 1305 Liverpool L69 3LB or visit the Red Balloon web site www.redballoonlearner.co.uk
