By Denise Winterman BBC News Magazine

A hundred years since the death of Dr Thomas Barnardo, the organisation he founded is still helping vulnerable youngsters. Could he have achieved the same today?

"There is still so much to do," Dr Barnardo uttered just before he died. If he were alive today he would say the same.

The organisation, which cared for 8,500 children at the time of his death, is now working directly with more than 100,000 youngsters and supporting a further 40,000 through other groups.

His belief that the most disadvantaged children deserved a better start in life drove him to break conventions of the day and his methods of doing so were remarkably modern.

Cause c�l�bre

Seizing upon every chance for publicity he would snap each child who came into his care and sell before-and-after shots to the Victorian middle classes to raise funds. He knew the income value of the sad images, selling packs of 20 pictures for five shillings.

He also turned himself into a major celebrity after a bitter court case brought against him by a fellow evangelist in London.

He was accused of financial malpractice, cruelty to children, lack of moral and religious training and of keeping children against their will, but was acquitted of all charges after four months and the testimony of 112 witnesses.

His principles of self-promotion are still as strong as ever today Jamie Raynes PR consultant Life then and now

Never one to shy away from publicity, he used the newspaper coverage of the trial to become a public personality and attract more support and funds.

"What was so modern about Barnardo was his use of the media," says PR consultant Jamie Raynes, who works with charities.

"He understood that to help his cause he needed to raise funds and awareness. He also understood that he needed to make himself the public face of his organisation and not be some mystery benefactor.

"His principles of self-promotion are still as strong as ever today. Figures such as Bono, Bob Geldof and Esther Rantzen have made themselves the public champions of different causes to great success. Barnardo would probably be alongside them if he were around today."

Radical

His approach to publicity is still at the core of Barnardo's awareness campaigns. Its recent child poverty campaign - which included an advert of a baby with a cockroach in its mouth - topped the Advertising Standards Authority complaints list last year and sparked a debate in the media.

"He was a visionary and a radical, not only in his work with children but the way he publicised the organisation and himself," says Barnardo's principal policy officer Neera Sharma.

But despite his modern way of thinking he would have found his work harder today, she believes.

Dr Barnardo devoted his life to helping vulnerable children. In pictures

"Back in Barnardo's day the contrasts between rich and poor were stark, it was easy to see who was in need," she says.

"Today there are still obvious cases but poverty on the whole is more hidden. The UK might be more affluent but one in four children still lives in poverty and it is often harder to detect, despite all the systems in place now.

"Saying that, I think he would still achieve as much today because he was so driven. He would probably be a really tough boss to work for."

Social worker Hannah Carr believes he would be up to facing the challenges of modern life.

"Times have changed and some of Dr Barnardo's childcare methods are now quite unpalatable, something he would probably agree with if he were alive today," she says.

"But his vocation to improve conditions for the most vulnerable children can't be questioned. While he would not be able to just remove children off the street today, he would have worked with the system to make sure they were not just left there."