At this event, artists were invited to donate a piece of their work, which we then raffled off. This year the artists were extremely generous and we had 36 pieces in the raffle.
How does the raffle work?
As art is so subjective, we run it a little differently from regular raffles. At our raffle, you only enter for the piece, or pieces that suit your palette. Visitors at the show then took their time looking at what’s on offer, giving us the chance to touch on how we help, and sometimes we even hear stories of what Samaritans has meant to people in the past.
Our volunteer Graham manning the art table.
This is such an important outing for us, not only for income but for our profile in the community.
The artwork donated for the Samaritans raffle.
The total raised at the Horsham Artists Raffle – an amazing £3385.90. This figure is up by nearly £800 on last year, and given the squeeze that many people are feeling at the moment, I think this reflects not only on the generosity of the art pieces the artists gave us but also the appreciation that Samaritans has generally with the public.
Alongside all the money raised, we also spoke to people interested in becoming volunteers, as well as former Samaritans who are keen to be kept in touch with.
The money raised helps us continue to provide support daily and keep the branch running. Coming up to Christmas and the winter months, it is vital that our services are available to those in need, and we couldn't do it without the generosity of the public.