Junior doctor from Harborough creates a new way of showing someone that you care in our new socially-distanced world

A junior doctor from Market Harborough is showing she’s all heart – as she generates hundreds of pounds for a critical child abuse helpline.

Emily Murphy, 38, has already smashed her £200 target backing Childline after hearing demand for the vital support charity has shot up during the shattering 12-month Covid pandemic.

In between looking after patients at hospitals in the East Midlands, the mum-of-two started knitting hearts for friends and loved ones which will act as a ‘hug’ in our new socially-distanced world.

Emily then learned of the crucial work that volunteers and staff are doing after tuning in to a radio interview about the NSPCC and Childline.

And she has now launched a Just Giving Page to help fund their service as it’s inundated with urgent requests for help from youngsters all over the UK.

“It’s been very challenging during the pandemic," said Emily.

“Everyone’s had to be flexible as you don’t know what’s coming next.

“It’s great that I can do a job that I love but at other times it’s been exhausting.

“People have been fantastic working together as a team - there’s been a great sense of camaraderie within the hospital.

“One of my hobbies is knitting.

“I like to knit in my down time as I find it relaxing and it helps me to process my day.

“When schools didn’t go back in January a lot of my friends had children at home so I wanted to show them my support.

“Being able to squeeze these knitted hearts acts as a virtual hug but also a bit like a stress ball,” added Emily.

She challenged herself to knit one heart a day between Valentine’s Day and Easter Sunday for family, friends, and local groups as Childline stepped up its efforts to be there for children.

Since the first lockdown last March to the end of January, trained Childline counsellors have delivered over 61,000 counselling sessions about mental and emotional health.

That equates to 40 per cent of all counselling classes given by the service.

“I heard a radio interview about how the demand on Childline has increased during the pandemic.

“I hadn’t heard how it was affecting teenagers and young children before and it really moved me.

“The service is more important than ever for children,” insisted Emily.

“I decided if I was going to do something it would be for Childline.

“I must have knitted 40 hearts in total and I hope these hearts highlight what I’m looking to raise money for.

“Thank goodness I never had to ring Childline myself.

“But we all knew it was there when we were growing up – and at the moment it’s absolutely vital for children.”

Emily set herself a target of £200 – and she promptly topped that within just 24 hours as she’s already raced to £365.

“I was so overwhelmed.

“I have very generous friends and family and I’ve also had a fair few anonymous donations,” said the dedicated medic.

“People have been really kind and really gotten behind us.

“I really do hope I can raise as much money possible with this for such a critically-important cause.”

If you would like to support Emily you can visit her fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Emily-Murphy20And you can find out more about the vital work that Childline does here: https://www.childline.org.uk/