Eight members of the Carlisle Branch of Samaritans will be at Brunton Park ahead of the Northampton game on Saturday 15 April to say ‘Hello’, hand out information leaflets and if you feel you are able/would like to donate anything they will have collection buckets too!
The Carlisle branch was opened in 1968 and now has over 80 volunteers, based at our offices and Charity shop on Botchergate, Carlisle. We are an affiliated branch of the central Samaritans charity and as such we are an independent organisation, raising our own funds and looking after our own affairs. The Trustees of Carlisle Samaritans have the job of making sure we are financially secure – not an easy task in the present economic climate.
Director of Carlisle Samaritans, Phil Gray, said: "We are just ordinary people from all walks of life who want to give something back to the community. We are trained to listen without judging or trying to tell callers what they should do. We listen, we let callers know they’re not alone and that somebody is there for them whenever they need us.
"We are all volunteers who give our time to be there when people need someone to talk to – often in the darkest hours of the night – and the national helpline answers about 1.5 million calls every year – that’s over 170 calls per hour, every hour of every day. We are available 24/7."
The Samaritans Charity would like to thank the players, staff and Carlisle United fans for giving our charity the opportunity to increase our local profile with you ahead of Saturday's game. We look forward to seeing you at Brunton Park.
You can call Samaritans free day or night on 116 123
Find us on the web at www.samaritans.org