David Matthews

My story [p]Thank you for finding my charity page.[/p][p]I may have bumped into you somewhere, you may have seen me striding along the road or you’ve heard about The Listening Walk somewhere else. However you’ve arrived, you’re welcome.[/p][p]I’ve been a Samaritan for over 12 years and have witnessed first hand what a wonderful impact offering a listening ear has. After years of umm-ing and ah-ing I decided that if I wanted to tell people about this wonderful charity I needed to get out there. The idea of The Listening Walk was sown and after 5 years of excuses I finally set off on April 14th 2019 and after visiting all 201 branches of Samaritans and covering over 6000 miles on foot, I had hoped to finish in the early months of 2021.[/p][p]Fast forward to the early months of 2021 and our world had totally changed. Instead of calling it a day at the 3,300 miles I had covered, I realised that now, more than ever, there was a need to get back out there and let people know that The Samaritans are still there for them and that through all their emotional turmoil and suicidal thoughts there will always be someone willing to listen.[/p][p][br][/p][p]If you can donate please do. This is what donations to The Samaritans can pay for[/p][p]£5 will allow us to respond to someone struggling to cope.[/p][p]It takes £46 to train and support an existing volunteer for a year.[/p][p]£189 will pay for a day of providing emotional health classes in schools.[/p][p]£200 can pay for Samaritans to recruit, train and support a new volunteer to give them the skills they need.[/p][p]£334 will pay for one Samaritans branch to remain open for a day.[/p][p]Your donation will change people's lives...thank you.[/p]