Marking the end of a powerful partnership with Samaritans

Since May 2021, Ardonagh’s independent charity, ACT, has partnered with Samaritans to champion positive wellbeing and to reflect the cause as one central to the heart of the trust.

Samaritans' vision is a world where fewer people die by suicide. Key to their incredible work across the UK and Ireland is their volunteer-led listening service, which provides a non-judgmental line anyone can call for free and is open all year round.

Over the past two and a half years, ACT together with our colleagues have raised a spectacular £162,000 – surpassing our target of £150,000 – and the equivalent of over 32,000 calls to Samaritans’ 24/7 listening service.

As Ardonagh grows globally, it’s time for to ensure that ACT’s partner mirrors the evolution of the Group, so with the start of 2024, our partnership with Samaritans comes to an end to move onto a new chapter.

Far from a goodbye, we will continue to value the relationship built to date and to champion Samaritans, and so today we celebrate a hugely successful partnership and reflect on some of the most memorable moments of the past two-plus years...

A fantastic first month

To kick off the partnership, ACT donated £25,000, the equivalent to funding 5,000 potentially life-changing calls for help.

We closely followed this with a brilliant Group-wide online auction event, raising over £11,000 with a further £4,000 contributed by our Towergate colleagues.

Ride4Life on the road – times two!

Our Group charity cycle event, Ride4Life, took to the saddle not once, but twice, in support of Samaritans.

In 2021, they cycled over 200 miles from Uris in Doncaster to London, raising £25,000. The team was met with a welcome party from the charity at the finish line in Leadenhall market to celebrate the fantastic total.

Clearly not tired enough from that amazing effort, the Lycra was donned yet again in 2022, when the team pedaled their way from Towergate Cheltenham to London. Along the route, they were met by several groups of Samaritans volunteers, keeping the Ride4Life team motivated as the hills took their toll. They reached the finish line with a total of £10,000 raised.

The Ride4Life team at the finish line in Leadenhall market, joined by Samaritans.

Doubling our colleagues' incredible fundraising efforts

Over the past couple of years, colleagues from around the Group have got behind Samaritans and taken on their own challenges.

From a £5,000 donation at the Bravo Networks conference, to a Tough Mudder challenge and charity football game in Ardonagh Specialty raising £3,000, and a trek up Mount Snowdon in Ardonagh Retail.

Alongside match funding from ACT, through their own events our colleagues raised a brilliant £40,000 towards our overall partnership total.

Ardonagh Retail colleagues at the summit of Mt. Snowdon on their Samaritans' fundraiser.

Ardonagh Specialty took on a Tough Mudder challenge to raise over £4,000.

Sponsoring Samaritans Listening Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

In 2023, we were honoured to further our support by joining Samaritans at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show – one of the world’s oldest garden shows, having taken place in London since 1912.

2023 was all the more special, as Samaritans’ celebrated their 70^th anniversary, which they marked with a beautiful show garden, ‘The Listening Garden’, at Chelsea, which was designed to reflect the journey of a caller to the charity’s listening line from crisis to hope.

We were delighted to attend the unveiling of the garden at a special evening event sponsored by ACT, and attended by many of our ACT Trustees.

Samaritans' beautiful Listening Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Thank you, from Samaritans' CEO