Tour du Mont Blanc for Cambridge Samaritans

James Goh is raising money for Cambridge Samaritans
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Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc with friends · 26 August 2023

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

Hello! We're a group of Cambridge students and this August we will tackle the Tour du Mont Blanc, a 180 km hike, in support of Cambridge Samaritans.

Cambridge has a massive demand for mental health services because many students find the change to an independent, high pressured environment to be a catalyst for underlying issues. Furthermore, many young people try to solve their problems alone which only makes them worse.

When a person has the courage to call a helpline like the Samaritans, it’s important that someone answers. Across the UK, the Samaritans respond to over 10,000 potentially life-saving calls every day; but it isn't enough. With the resources gained from your donations, this charity could help more individuals in need.

To raise funds for this incredible free service, over 11 days, we will be hiking through France, Italy and Switzerland around the Mont Blanc Massif. Carrying our supplies for wild-camping up a total elevation gain greater than Mt. Everest will be no easy feat. Any donations to this great cause, no matter the amount, would be most appreciated and help to keep us motivated as we do the trek! For reference, a donation of £5 would cover the cost of 1 call to the hotline.

More info on our Instagram page: TMB_for_CamSamaritans

Thank you,

James, Amirah and Friends

Donation summary

Total
£1,717.76
+ £97.50 Gift Aid
Online
£1,467.76
Offline
£250.00

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