After reaching our original £250,000 fundraising target for Project 55 at the end of December 2024, 2025 started with some sobering news.
Having originally received quotes for Project 55 in September 2023, the passage of time has seen increases in inflation and building costs have risen significantly. Following advice from Samaritans Central Office, we have been forced to revise our fundraising target to £320,000.
Whilst clearly this is disappointing news for the branch, we have started the New Year with some great events. As ever, our Painting and Prosecco night was enjoyed by all attendees, and we had a real collection of aurora inspired paintings. Thank you to Heather from For all the Small Things for another successful evening.
March 9th saw some very brave “soles” as our supporters took an amazing 'Fire and Ice Challenge', where they walked over broken glass and then over hot coals. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this one off event, and even had a couple of turns! Brave souls indeed! Thanks go to Scott Bell at UK Fire Walks who made the event possible, ensuring no injuries and some fabulous photo opportunities, plus a very much appreciated donation to our cause.
We are also delighted to receive a pledge for £25,000 from the Eveson Trust, this has helped to really boost our fundraising efforts. More events are planned for the rest of the year, so do look at our future events page.
Whilst we continue with our fundraising, Project 55 is not on hold. As our service is run by volunteers, who often have work or other commitments outside of their Samaritans lives, the Branch Leadership Team, with support from the Property Team at SCO, have made the decision to appoint Property Consultants, Fisher German, to manage the project. We are looking forward to working with them to get us into our new building by autumn of this year.
If you would like further details about Project 55, or how you can get involved, please contact us via our fundraising page.