Fundraising

Why do we need money?

It costs about £96 per day to run the Colchester Samaritans. Our charity is a local one and is run entirely by volunteers. Nobody gets a salary (not even the Director) and we have to raise all our running costs. Although we are affiliated to the national Samaritans charity we receive no funding from them.

Premises

At present we have to raise enough money each year to pay rent for our premises.  We believe that when our lease ends in 2012 we will need to move to new premises to improve our service and that the time will be right to buy our own property.  This will reduce the amount we have to raise in future years and enable us to provide a better service to those who contact us for support.  Please click here to find out more about our Premises Project.

How we raise money

Sponsored activities, fundraising events, our bookshop, a quiz night, donations, legacies and good old fashioned tin rattling.  Read about some fundraising activities below.

Trekking the Great Wall of China

Claire van Helfteren, the Chair of our Committee trekked a huge length of the Great Wall of China in October for Colchester Samaritans. The trek involved walking on average 7hrs a day along the Great Wall. This mammoth undertaking raised a lot of money towards our Premises Fund.

Bookshop

Our Bookshop is located next to the entrance to our Branch in Vineyard Street and sells second-hand books. It is open from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm each Friday and Saturday and has a wide selection of hardbacks and paperbacks, both fiction and non-fiction at extremely competitive prices. We also sell a few audio tapes, CDs, videos, DVDs and records.

Donations of books (in good condition, please), tapes, DVDs, videos and records are always welcome. They may be left at the shop during opening hours or at the Branch at other times. Substantial donations can sometimes be collected - please phone us to discuss this.

Why not pay our bookshop a visit?

Sponsored Activities

We have benefited from the bravery of some wonderful people undertaking sponsored events.   Special thanks to Clare Tunningley, who is blind, and her friend Rosie Schonenberger who cycled 500km across Rajasthan, India, on a tandem in just six days.

Clare and Rosie braved huge potholes, being run off the road by traffic, being attacked by puzzled locals as well as encountering a pack of wild dogs during their adventure. Clare, who raised over £5000 in sponsorship for Colchester Samaritans, said “It was the most challenging thing I have ever done – and I feel like I earned every single penny of that sponsorship. Anyone who tries to tell me it was a holiday will get a serious glare."

A Concert

In July 2009 the Kelvedon Singers put on an excellent Concert For A Summer Evening to raise funds for our Branch.   It was a lovely event with a varied selection of music sung really beautifully.  In addition to lovely music there were tasty nibbles and drinks to enjoy.  Our thanks to the Kelvedon Singers, Christopher Phelps their Director and Penelope Marsden their accompanist for a very enjoyable evening.

Why not become a supporter?

You don’t have do something as spectacular as the adventures mentioned above, if you would like to help us raise funds by undertaking a sponsored activity do give us a call.

If you would like to become a ‘Friend of Colchester Samaritans’ and maybe help out at the bookshop or a quiz night give us a call on 01206 561234

If you would like to make a donation on line - click here

OR 

You can send a cheque to:

• The Treasurer
• Colchester Samaritans
• 12 Vineyard Street
• COLCHESTER
• CO2 7DG

Please make your cheque payable to 'Colchester Samaritans'.