Samaritans of Newry & Dundalk wants to thank its volunteers and supporters who ran, jogged or walked a marathon in their own time to help raise money for their branch.
Over the month of July, the ‘Samarathon’ took place with thousands of people across the country taking part in this virtual marathon, jogging or walking their way to 26.2 miles.
We here in Samaritans of Newry & Dundalk are conscious that with the ongoing pandemic, mental wellbeing is more important than ever. Rather than focusing on a single physical endurance challenge that required participants to run 26.2 miles in one stretch, ‘Samarathon’ was a way for the people of South Down, South Armagh and North Louth to take on a marathon challenge at their own pace.
Some of the Newry volunteers and their families who took part in Samarathon!
Deputy Director of Publicity at our Newry branch, Stephen McElroy said, “The Samarathon was designed to encourage people to get out and about in a safe way, helping them to look after their physical and mental health during a difficult time for everyone.
“We were overwhelmed by the generous support of our volunteers, their friends and families and the wider community. Out of almost 200 Samaritan branches in the UK, the Newry & Dundalk branch had the single most participants raising money directly for any branch. This is a huge testament to our wonderful volunteers and their supporters.”
Each branch of the Samaritans has to raise their own money to keep their branch operational and the support of the community at this time will allow the Samaritans of Newry & Dundalk to continue to be there for people in need as part of the wider Samaritan network.