David's Samaritans Heritage Ride 2022

David Bruce is raising money for Cambridge Samaritans
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Samaritans Heritage Ride 2022 · 21 May 2022

Someone who is suicidal, despairing or in distress contacts Samaritans every six seconds, and every single day around 16 people decide to end their own life across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Public Health England estimates that every suicide carries an economic cost of £1.6 million. Cambridge Samaritans, one of the oldest and largest Samaritan branches in the country, has been serving people in Cambridge and in the wider community for over 50 years. We provide emotional support local and nationally to callers to alleviate their feelings of despair and distress, and therefore reduce the likelihood of them taking their own life. Samaritans are here 24/7; last year alone our branch took over 32,000 calls, answered nearly 4,000 written contacts, and saw nearly 200 visitors at our Centre. We spent over 9,000 hours on the phone. We are entirely run and managed by 170 unpaid volunteers, who not only take calls but also train new Samaritans, provide internal support, and manage branch administration. Cambridge Samaritans works intensively with local organisations including Cambridge Wintercomfort, Littlehey Prison, Network Rail, and local schools, colleges and community groups. Cambridge Samaritans needs your support to train new volunteers, support existing ones, maintain our facilities, and develop our premises to expand our capacity - at present can’t respond to all the people who contact us for support.

Story

Samaritans is a unique charity dedicated to reducing feelings of isolation and disconnection that can lead to suicide.  Every six seconds they respond to a call for help.  Every year, they answer more than 5 million calls for help by phone, email, SMS, letter or face to face at one of their local branches. They're here 24/7, before, during and after a crisis.

I have been a support volunteer with the Cambridge Branch for 14 years and know how important our work is to help those who are struggling to cope and need someone to listen to without judgement or pressure. 

From 21 - 26 May, together with other Samaritans from across the UK, I will be participating in a 350-mile bike ride from London to York (via Colchester, Cambridge, Kings Lynn, Lincoln and Hull) to raise money for this incredible organisation.  My participation will only be on the leg from Cambridge to Kings Lynn and all monies I raise will go directly towards the Cambridge Samaritans branch which is run entirely by volunteers.


Donation summary

Total
£160.00
+ £33.75 Gift Aid
Online
£160.00
Offline
£0.00

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