services were popularised in the United Kingdom by John Pensom of the Children's Society. Since 1968 Christingle services have been held by churches and schools to raise funds for the society's work. £1.2m was raised in 2013 from over 5,000 events. Historic abuse scandal In June 2017, prompted by scrutiny from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) into its past conduct, the Children's Society admitted to its role in historic child abuse. The charity was implicated in abuse arising from its role in facilitating the migration of 3700 children to Australia, Canada and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) . The charity also issued an apology for abuse carried out in its children's homes in the United Kingdom; "We also want to acknowledge that it’s not only child migrants who suffered at the hands of abusers. We are also deeply sorry to any other people who in the past suffered neglect, harm or sexual abuse while in the care of The Children’s Society here in the UK..." The charity had been aware of the abuse for many years, and had paid damages in secret to victims, only admitting to these payments in 2017 following scrutiny from IICSA. References External links The Children's Society Hidden Lives Revealed A Virtual Archive — Children in Care 1881–1918 The Children's Homes website A history of the Children's Society with details of each home it ran Children's Society Paid Damages to Victims of Sexual Abuse, The Telegraph IICSA, Child Migration Programmes Investigation Report Charities based in London Children's charities based in England Church of England societies and organisations 1881 establishments in England Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington Organizations established in 1881 Religion in the London Borough of Islington