Barnardo's
Encyclopedia
Thomas John Barnardo
Thomas John Barnardo was a philanthropist and founder and director of homes for poor children, born in Dublin. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1870 to the date of Barnardo’s death, nearly 100,000 children had been rescued, trained and given a better life.- Early life :Barnardo...
in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups. Barnardo's is based in Barkingside
Barkingside
Barkingside is a district of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge, northeast London. It is a suburban development.It is also the place in which Barkingside FC play their home games at Oakside stadium in Station Road....
in the London Borough of Redbridge
London Borough of Redbridge
The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough in outer north-east London. Its administrative headquarters is at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford. The local authority is Redbridge London Borough Council.-Etymology:...
in east London.
Origin
The charity's founder Thomas Barnardo opened a schoolSchool
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
in the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
to care for and educate children of the area left orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
ed and destitute by the recent cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
outbreak. A little street child, called Jim Jarvis, attended one of his classes after hearing of it from another child and asked for help. The little boy eventually led him to a hiding place of hundreds of boys on a rooftop in Whitechapel as their only other alternative was to go to a workhouse. In 1870 he founded a boys' orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
at 18 Stepney Causeway
18 Stepney Causeway, London
Dr Thomas John Barnardo opened 18 Stepney Causeway in London, England in December 1870 as a home for working and homeless boys. The property was on a 99 year lease at £57.00 per year. The home housed 60 boys in 5 bedrooms...
and later opened a girls' home. By the time of his death in 1905, Barnardo's institutions cared for over 8,500 children in 96 locations. His work was carried on by his many supporters under the name Dr Barnardo's Homes. Following societal changes in the mid 20th century, the charity changed its focus from the direct care of children to fostering
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
and adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, renaming itself Dr Barnardo's. Following the closure of its last traditional orphanage in 1989 it took the still simpler name of Barnardo's. The official mascot of Barnardo is a bear called Barney. H.M. Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
is the current patron of Barnardo's. Its Chief Executive is Anne Marie Carrie.
Historical Criticism of Barnardo's
There was controversy early on with Barnardo's work. Specifically he was accused of kidnapping children without parents' permission and of falsifying photographs of children to make the distinction between the period before they were rescued by Barnardo's and afterwards seem more dramatic. He openly confessed to the former of these charges, describing it as 'philanthropic abduction' and basing his defence on the idea that the ends justified the means. Indeed he was taken to court on 88 occasions largely on the charge of kidnapping. However, being a charismatic speaker and popular figure he rode through these scandals unscathed. Other charges brought against him included presenting staged images of children for Barnardo's 'before and after' cards and neglecting basic hygiene for the children under his care. These latter remained unproven. A common accusation that he was 'Jack the RipperJack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
', first made by McCormack (1970), which has widely entered recent urban mythology, is widely regarded as spurious .
Barnardo's work today
Today Barnardo's provides a comprehensive range of local support, counselling, fostering, adoption and training services for more than 100,000 children, young people and their families. The charity works to transform the lives of vulnerable children and young people, and aims to enable them to fulfil their potential. In recent years Barnardo's has accompanied its service delivery work with some robust campaigning on child poverty, Sarah's Law, asylum-seeking children, children in care, young carers and, most recently, youth justice. In terms of charitable expenditure, Barnardo's is now the UK's biggest children's charity.Barnardo's raises money for its work with children and young people through its chain of high-street and local retail shops. As well as regular second hand stores across the UK, Barnardo's also has a network of shops dedicated to selling vintage clothing, books, shoes and furniture, as well as boutiques, bridal wear shops and dress agencies, not to mention GIK (gifts in kind) stores which sell new clothing and goods that have been donated to Barnardo's from manufacturers and retailers. Barnardo's also have an online shop on their main website which details new goods such as gifts and greeting cards.
Barnardo's have their own song, which was sung by children from Dedham C of E Primary School at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
to raise money for the charity. Some Barnardo's shops play pre-recorded programmes of "Barnardo's Radio" featuring a mix of easy listening music interspersed with short appeal campaign appeals.
The charity's current tagline is "Believe in children".
Contemporary Criticisms of Barnardo's
Barnardo's has courted controversy with its advertising program, which in 2003 featured a new-born baby with a cockroach crawling out of its mouth. The advert was subsequently banned by the ASA. In 2008 its 'Break the cycle' TV advert featuring a girl being repeatedly hit around the head by her father prompted a number of complaints but was cleared by the ASA who said the imagery was justified given the context.Further controversies have dogged Barnardo's in recent years. In 2009 Martin Narey
Martin Narey
Martin Narey was the Chief Executive Officer of Barnardo's from October 2005 before stepping down in January 2011 to spend more time with his family...
then Chief Executive of Barnardos stated that he believed that more children should be taken into care. This statement caused considerable controversy especially as historical references were made by journalists to Barnardo's original practice of 'philanthropic abduction'. Narey has consistently claimed that his comments were misunderstood and taken out of context, indeed that Barnardo's primary work is in supporting families .
Children of Dr. Barnardo's Homes and music
During the 1950s, children from the homes made some significant recordings. Their biggest claim to fame was featuring on Petula ClarkPetula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
's 1952 recording of "Where Did My Snowman Go?". They also made some other recordings as a vocal group for Polygon
Polygon Records
Polygon Records was one of the first British independent record labels.It was started in 1949 as the Polygon Record Company Ltd. by Alan A. Freeman and Leslie Clark, who was anxious to control distribution of his daughter Petula Clark's recordings...
& Pye Nixa
Nixa Records
Nixa Record Company Ltd. was founded in 1950 by F. H. B. Nixon. Nixa was the second company, after Decca, in Britain to release LP records. At the time, EMI was attempting to promote 45 rpm records over 33 LP records...
.