THREE Merseyside businesswomen will use their success in the world of enterprise to help children who have suffered abuse.

Event organisers Sonia Rheinlander and Sylvia Boyle and marketing co-ordinator Helen White have formed a committee dedicated to raising money for the NSPCC Safe Place Appeal.

The three women are planning a dragon boat race in aid of the Daily Post-backed £17m campaign to build a safe haven in Liverpool.

Ms Rheinlander, who is co-director of St Helens-based events company Denevo alongside Ms Boyle, said: "We want to use our expertise to help a worthy cause.

"But it is not all about raising money. With our business contacts and knowledge, we are in the perfect position to help raise awareness of the Safe Place Appeal and the NSPCC."

The members of the newly formed NSPCC Business Partnership Group will race on June 19 from the Kings Dock.

They are appealing for teams of 14 to pay £10 a head to take control of a boat and raise money for the appeal.

It is hoped participants will enter into the spirit of things by wearing fancy dress and raising thousands of pounds in sponsorship between them.

The three women said the boat race will be the first of many projects in aid of the Safe Place Appeal and they are looking for more members for their committee.

The Safe Place Appeal was launched last September and aims to build a refuge for women and children fleeing from domestic abuse.

In January, the NSPCC submitted a planning application to build the centre on Great Homer Street.

Since the launch of the appeal, schoolchildren, office workers and individuals have rallied round to raise money.

Network engineer Paul Doyle, 33, of Croxteth, climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and raised £600.

He said: "I was glad I could help a cause at the same time. I wanted to help the NSPCC appeal because children deserve to be given the best start in life."

Pupils at Wirral Grammar School for Boys have handed a cheque for more than £11,300 to the appeal, the result of a year of fundraising efforts.

The boys raised the money with a non-school uniform day, a fun-run, a Christmas Fair raffles and competitions.

To top up the funds, pupils secured a Wayne Rooney signed Everton shirt that was auctioned off for more than £2,000.

Headteacher Tony Cooper said: "Raising money for charity is part of the ethos at the school and the boys choose a different cause every year."

Staff at Warrington-based BNFL have also spent the past 12 months raising money for the Safe Place Appeal.

Fundraising activities have included events from book sales and donations of change in the cafe to a 310 mile sponsored cycle ride on the Trans Pennine Cycle Trail and the Pennine Cycle Way Peak District loop.

The company also took advantage of the Gift Aid scheme, which allowed them to claim back nearly £400 in tax on donations.

Community affairs manager, Pauline Deans, who co-ordinated the fundraising activity, said: "We've had lots of fun doing it and are delighted to have raised so much to help such a worthy cause."