Priority 5: Sustainability
Securing support so we can be here for anyone struggling to cope.
This year, we spent £5.8m on this strategic priority area.
It created our ‘most watched’ moment of the year, with coverage providing 111 million opportunities to see and hear about the garden. Interest peaked with visits from the Princess of Wales and HM The King.
During Chelsea week, 85 volunteers and staff from across the UK and Ireland came to represent the Samaritans family, spending hundreds of hours talking to visitors and helping raise awareness about our services and our work.
We are incredibly grateful to Darren for creating the Samaritans Listening Garden, a space of comfort and support for those in need – a true reflection of Samaritans.
After Chelsea, a travelling version of the garden reached a younger audience by joining Samaritans’ Festival Branch at Latitude in Suffolk, before heading to the Welsh Eisteddfod in Llandovery to raise awareness of our Welsh language services.
A very special after-hours event, sponsored by Ardonagh Community Trust, brought Samaritans’ supporters together to give greater insight into the significance of the garden and inspire them to continue to support our work. In the last year, we have raised close to £1 million in generous donations from donors, trust funders and corporate supporters who were invited to the evening reception.
The work done by Samaritans is beyond important, as reflected in the startling statistics of over 134 million calls answered in their history. We’re delighted to have been able to help them to make a difference to so many people and hope this beautiful garden inspires those who view it to support this wonderful charity.
David Ross, ACT Trustee and CEO, The Ardonagh Group
Bella, who featured in our ‘Break the Silence’ campaign
We also held a winter TV appeal, co-created with Standard Life, to ‘help keep our helplines open on Christmas Day’. To support this, Standard Life helped fund a new ad and donated media space over the Christmas period, helping us to raise much-needed funds and welcome new donors.
Workplace training
Samaritans Training and Engagement Programmes (STEP) support organisations to train their people to spot and help anyone struggling to cope. As well as teaching people skills that can save lives, STEP also raises vital funds for Samaritans. In 2023, STEP supported almost 100 UK workplaces and we secured funding from The National Lottery to pilot a similar training programme in Ireland.