Samaritans Charity Bio

Samaritans have been a vital point of contact since 1953, helping those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts, and since 1984, Samaritans has received over 68 million calls or correspondence from those in need. Samaritans was set up by vicar Chad Varah after he identified the essential need for a ‘999 for the suicidal’ to try and prevent needless loss of life, with Samaritans being founded on the principles of confidential, non-judgemental support, providing a safe space where people could be listened to. Samaritans now operates 201 Samaritans branches across the UK and Ireland, and in 2012, Samaritans received over 25,000 enquiries from volunteers wanting to undertake Samaritans training. Samaritans was the first 24 hour helpline to be set up in the world and today, Samaritans is supported by the Prime Minister, Prince Charles and leading public figures including Stephen Fry and Barbara Windsor, as well as celebrities such as Radiohead drummer Phil Selway, himself a former Samaritans volunteer.

Samaritans may be a well-known national charity but it still relies on donations from individuals as well as the money raised through many different Samaritans fundraising initiatives. If you take a look at Samaritans website, you will find suggestions for the many different ways you can support Samaritans, including how to apply to become a Samaritans volunteer. However, even by just using one of the promotional codes on our site, you can provide some much-needed help to Samaritans as well as many other charities. We give 20% of our profits to a different charitable cause every month, with the recipient being decided by our regular charity polls, so you can vote for Samaritans when you see them, or nominate Samaritans to feature in future polls.

For more information on Samaritans and the important work Samaritans carry out, take a look at the Samaritans site by visiting www.samaritans.org.