Media centre

Thursday 18 Jun 2015

Railway staff aim to clock up the miles in support of the Samaritans

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Staff from Network Rail and First Great Western will be taking part in a cycling and rowing challenge at Reading station tomorrow to raise money for Samaritans and highlight the invaluable work it does.

The challenge will take place on Friday 19 June and will involve the volunteers using a static bike and rowing machine to travel 300 miles, the equivalent of Reading to Penzance in Cornwall, over the course of 12 hours.

Calum MacKay, Network Rail’s station manager for Reading, said: “The work  Samaritans does is vital and makes a huge difference to people’s lives.

“We were therefore only too happy to volunteer for this challenge. Hopefully, it will not only enable us to raise money for a very worthy cause, it will also provide us with the opportunity to tell the public more about the great work Samaritans does.”

 The charity provides round-the clock support every day of the year for people struggling to cope. Samaritans has been working with Network Rail, Train Operators and the wider rail industry to raise awareness amongst commuters of the support available to them.

Calum continued: “Everyone is welcome to come along on Friday. While we may be out of breath, members of Samaritans will be on hand throughout to have a chat with anyone interested in finding out more about them and the support they can offer.”

Ola Rzepczynska , Samaritans’ Strategic Programme Manager, said “With so many people using the rail network, it provides a key opportunity to reach people who may be struggling, but unaware of the support that’s out there to help.  This is an incredible challenge and we are delighted to have this amazing support from the team.  The monies raised will help us provide Samaritans’ vital service which, to some, is a lifeline.”

Anyone who would like to make a donation in support of the challenge can do so by visiting the team’s ‘JustGiving’ web page https://www.justgiving.com/Readingstation/.

More information about the Samaritans can be found by visiting http://www.samaritans.org/.

ENDS

 

Notes to editors:

• Samaritans is available round the clock, every single day of the year. We provide a safe place for anyone struggling to cope, whoever they are, however they feel, whatever life has done to them. Please call 08457 90 90 90 (UK) 116 123 (ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find details of the nearest branch.