Samaritans Craigavon benefit from Over the Hills' cycling fundraiser despite Storm Kathleen

The Over the Hills cycling group had planned to cycle from Dublin to the branch office in Thomas Street in Portadown, starting on Sunday, April 7, but had to amend their plans because of dreadful weather and flooded roads as a result of of Storm Kathleen.

They still completed their 100-mile challenge though, using country roads around Drogheda – and raised the fantastic sum of £4,400.

The cyclists were welcomed back to the branch on Tuesday by their families, friends and Samaritans volunteers.

They are hoping their efforts will inspire schools, clubs, businesses, friends, family and community groups to come together to show the power of individual actions to create amazing results for Craigavon Samaritans by picking up the challenge to get involved in fundraising.

Samaritans offer emotional support to anyone who needs someone to talk to. They provide a listening ear to people at their lowest point and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every single day of the year.

Although Craigavon Samaritans is run entirely by volunteers, their operating costs are in the region of £30,000 per year and with the rising costs of utilities affecting everyone, they are no exception. Fundraising and donations are crucial to run the branch and provide the listening service as Samaritans are not funded through the Government.

Director of Craigavon Samaritans, Beverley Huddleson said: “We are so thrilled to have the support and fundraising efforts of the Over the Hills cycling group this year.

"All the cyclists involved did really well and they have raised £4,400 for our branch and our life-saving work wouldn’t be possible without the extraordinary generosity of the event participants.

"We have a great team of volunteers here at Craigavon Samaritans and everyone has really pulled together with ideas to get fundraising initiatives off the ground. The local community has always been very good to us when we look for support whether it be for raffle prizes or donations, but we are well aware of the difficulties that some local businesses are facing with continuous rising costs.

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"With that in mind, we wanted to try and look at a way to raise the funds by asking the entire community to help in a small way to achieve great things,” Beverley added.

"It’s important that we reach all sections of our community with the message that we are here 24/7 to listen and our service is completely free of charge.

"This Over the Hills sponsored cycle event for Craigavon Samaritans aimed to both raise funds for the branch and highlight the power of small individual actions toward achieving big goals. So please consider getting involved in a fundraising event for us,” added the director of Craigavon Samaritans.

Call Samaritans free 24 hours a day, on 116 123. If you don’t want an urgent response, you can also write to them by email [email protected] or mail at Freepost SAMARITANS LETTERS