The Samaritans Isle of Man team is gearing up for a busy July, with involvement at Tynwald Fair, Douglas Carnival and the Southern Agricultural Show either side of National Samaritans Day.
For the National Day on Sunday, July 24, the team is staging a memorial event on Douglas Head, which is open to anyone who has been bereaved through suicide. The Department of Infrastructure has agreed to light the Tower of Refuge green – the Samaritans’ colour – that night to mark the occasion.
For Tynwald Day at St John’s on Tuesday, July 5, Samaritans Isle of Man will have a stall, with activities, cakes for sale and a lucky dip.
Douglas Carnival on Sunday, July 17 will see the Samaritans position themselves at the very end of the procession – ‘always at the end of the line’ – and hand out balloons and sweets.
The team’s presence at the Southern Show on Saturday and Sunday, July 30/31 will mirror its involvement with Tynwald Day, and the aim of the month’s activities is to raise the profile of the charity and increase awareness of the work it does.
Samaritans Isle of Man Director Gill Porter explained: ‘Raising awareness of the charity’s work is threefold. First, it lets those who need someone to talk to know that we are there for them, 24/7. Second, it allows us to let people know about the different services we provide. And third, it helps us find more volunteers, without whom we could not deliver those services – answering calls, texts and emails, not to mention the various admin roles we need to carry out.’
Volunteers come from all walks of life and do not need to have any experience as training is given. There are a variety of volunteering roles, and it doesn’t require a huge time commitment.
Gill said: ‘Volunteering with the Samaritans can bring real personal benefits, but it also provides great experience that can be applied to professional walks of life.
‘For a variety of personal reasons, there is a constant – but thankfully fairly slow – fluctuation in the number of volunteers we have at any one time, which is why events such as Tynwald Day and the agricultural shows are so important to us to help spread the word and reinforce the message about the important work our volunteers carry out.’
If you would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities at the Samaritans, contact Samaritans@manx.net.
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