Chad Varah Appeal completion

A fitting tribute to Chad’s Pioneering vision

After two years of hard work, three events and the generous support of over 100 donors, Samaritans are pleased to announce the successful completion of the Chad Varah Appeal.

The £750,000 raised via the appeal goes towards the design, develop and implement a new communications system (Samaritans Connect). This system will bring together our calls, emails and text support services under one umbrella, guaranteeing that our volunteers have the best tools to carry out their life-saving work.

Felicity Varah with the original Samaritans telephone

Thanks to the enormous generosity of our supporters and benefactors we are now able to ensure that we continue Chad’s pioneering vision. Their support has put Samaritans on a path to ensuring that when someone contacts us in distress they get through to a trained volunteer first time, every time.

Whilst the appeal has hit its fundraising target for our work in the UK, we continue to raise funds for the development of the international network Befrienders Worldwide to ensure we can work alongside our partners to reduce the number of suicides globally.

If you are interested in supporting the international element of the Chad Varah Appeal or would like more information on how to make a significant donation to Samaritans work please contact Sarah White on 0208 394 8283.