Year 10 students Izzy P and CiCi T tell us all about an Inspire and Guide talk focused on the work of the Samaritans: 

'On 12 October 2018, Jayne Whitfield came to speak to students in Years 10 & 11, as part of our Inspire and Guide programme. It was a talk from which we all left feeling more confident in what the Samaritans charity is and how we can all be involved in different ways. The Samaritans, relying on public donations, is a charity whose key aim is to make people feel like they’re never alone. Jayne herself is a listener - someone whose job is to, well, listen.

“We’re there for people when they need us, which could be any time of day or night.”

“Every six seconds, Samaritans responds to a call for help.”

The organisation is therefore very beneficial to people all over the UK and Ireland. The Samaritans not only provide a call service but a text, email and soon an Instant Messaging service.  

Jane walked us through the volunteering process, the benefits and also the downsides - for example, how giving support to those with mental health issues can have a strain on your own mental health. This, however, is something that the Samaritans take great care over and each session ends with the trained volunteers having the opportunity to discuss how they are feeling and any advice and support they may need.  

Jayne taught us the importance of a work-life balance and how important it is to look after your mental and emotional health. This message will stay with us all throughout our lives and it is a real comfort to know that volunteers like Jayne are there to listen to us. The talk has also opened opportunities for us that we weren't aware were available. With training anybody can become a volunteer and she explained to us how to choose an organisation to volunteer with and the different roles you can undertake via volunteer work. Although the talk included some saddening figures about mental health, we have emerged with a fuller understanding of the importance of volunteer work and with a more optimistic view of the future.'

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