The creation of the Fund
The donations that came in from members of the public in Claire’s name following her death was unprecedented with 80,000 unique users donating on Claire’s JustGiving page alone – the total donated now stands at over £1 million, which has been put into The Claire Squires Fund.
Samaritans wanted this to be used in a special way, a lasting tribute to Claire. Over the past few months we have been working with Cilla and her family to decide how the money donated should be used in a way Claire would have wanted.
When developing ideas, it was important that we made sure that the projects funded were the right legacy for Claire, and that they reflected her interests and personality. As the money had come to Samaritans in an exceptional way, it was very important that we used this opportunity to look at ideas for how we could explore new ways of reaching out and supporting more vulnerable people.
We have also been very clear that projects made possible by The Claire Squires Fund should bear her name, leading to the creation of the 
Claire logo, so it was clear both internally and externally what the donations made in Claire’s name have been able to fund and make possible.
