PRESS RELEASE

27 December 2009

Shoppers remember Samaritans at Christmas.

Generous shoppers donated a total of £1909 to Cheltenham Samaritans in the build up to Christmas. Volunteers were collecting outside Aldi (Tewkesbury Road) on 18 December, Tesco (Bishops Cleeve) on 22 December and Sainsburys (Oakley) on 22  December.

John Everton, Treasurer, said " The amount raised has truly exceeded all of our expectations and we are greatful to the staff at Aldi, Tesco and Sainsburys for allowing us to collect on their premises."

The totals collected at each destination (to the nearest pound) are shown below.

Date
Location
Amount
18 December 2009 Aldi - Cheltenham
£309
22 December 2009 Tesco - Bishops Cleeve
£757
23 December 2009 Sainsburys - Oakley
£843

Valerie Nicoll, the Chair of Cheltenham Samaritans, said "I would like to thank everyone who gave money to our collectors. It is wonderful to see that so many people are willing to give generously, even at a time when their finances are stretched. Sadly for some people Christmas & the New Year is not a happy time and this money will enable us to provide a much needed service for those who are distressed, unable to cope and, perhaps, suicidal."

For further information about the survey or to set up interviews please contact:
Graham Tandy, Publicity Officer on 07777 683448 or email publicity@cheltenhamsamaritans.org

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2082 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 27th - 30th November 2009.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
Samaritans
Samaritans' vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged.  Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings.

Samaritans is a registered charity, founded in 1953, which offers 24-hour confidential emotional support to anyone in emotional distress.  The service is offered by 16,534 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support.  Across the UK, you can call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland) email jo@samaritans.org, write to Samaritans at Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA, or if you are deaf or hard of hearing use the single national minicom number 08457 90 91 92. Log on to www.samaritans.org for more information. Calls from BT will be charged at up to 2 pence per minute at all times. A call set-up fee of 7 pence applies to calls from residential lines. Mobile and other providers' charges may vary.