Veezu drive to stop child cruelty

Veezu has pledged to donate 1p to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) for every booking made using its app over the next two years, as part of its new ‘big drive to stop child cruelty’ campaign.

The company is rolling out the initiative across its four UK firms – Dragon Taxis in South Wales, Amber Cars in Leeds, A2B Radio Cars in Birmingham and Solihull and V Cars in the South West of England – in the hope of raising £50,000 for the charity. “The private hire and taxi industry provides a vital community service to individuals and families across the country,” said Joel Hope-Bell, Veezu’s chief executive officer.

“As a significant national player in the industry, this feels like a very natural partnership for Veezu and one that we are proud to pledge our support to. “In a personal capacity, I have been a supporter of the NSPCC for many years and I know just how valuable partnerships with businesses are for the charity, so I am delighted that we can partner with and help benefit such an important and inspiring cause.”

The NSPCC is the leading children’s charity fighting to end child abuse in the UK. As well as delivering a number of local services that support children and their families it also runs Childline, which offers confidential support and advice to children and young people. The charity’s schools service also provides information and guidance for primary school pupils on how to speak out and stay safe from abuse.

Peter Wanless, chief executive officer at NSPCC, said: “We are delighted that Veezu has chosen to support the NSPCC in its fight for every childhood. “The money raised from app bookings will support crucial services like Childline, which undertook nearly 300,000 counselling sessions with children and young people last year. “It will also help us to continue delivering our innovative schools service, which helps young children speak out and stay safe from abuse, both in the real world and online.”

In 2016, more than 10,000 Veezu passengers used its “three-tap” mobile app to book journeys every week, and with more and more people turning to electronic booking methods to order a taxi, Mr Hope-Bell hopes the ‘big drive’ initiative could actually raise more than the pledged £75,000 over the three-year contract. “The introduction of the app has had a really positive impact in all of the regions that we operate,” he added. “Investing in the business’s technology infrastructure has always been priority for Veezu, so it seemed only right for us to include the app as part of our efforts to build support for the NSPCC.”

The NSPCC helpline responded to almost 55,000 contacts from adults concerned about the welfare of a child in 2015/16. That same year, Childline, which is contacted by a child every 25 seconds, carried out 300,000 in-depth counselling sessions for children. It costs £4 for a trained volunteer counsellor to answer a child’s call for help.