Three UK helps Samaritans answer the call for more volunteers

Hundreds more Samaritans volunteers will be on shift in the coming years thanks to a donation of £150,000 from Three UK as part of its ongoing partnership with the charity.

The funding sees Three UK become a proud supporter of the Samaritans Training School, a project designed to make the charity’s volunteer training more flexible and accessible. Three’s funding will help Samaritans recruit and train 300 more listening volunteers who will go on to deliver around 13,000 hours of volunteering – answering around 50,000 calls from people who need emotional support.

The news comes as Samaritans marks 70 years of helping anyone that is struggling to cope, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Over the last 70 years, its volunteers have answered more than 134 million calls for help. The generous donation from Three UK will help Samaritans continue to be there for people who need their support, now and into the future.

With a shared belief in the life-changing power of human connection, Three UK has been supporting the charity since April 2021, helping to expand its emotional support services along with training, resources, and fundraising initiatives. This latest donation brings the total raised by Three, its employees and customers, to an excess of £590,000.

To help mark this partnership milestone, Three and Samaritans have collaborated on a new film which highlights the importance of Samaritans vital service.

Featured in the film is Jason, who shares his story of reaching out to Samaritans when he was going through a difficult time.

Jason said:

“I guess it was probably the lowest point in my life. I’d gone through redundancy, divorce, and bereavement. It got to a place where I was feeling a lot of pain and overwhelming, and no hope or purpose. That’s when I knew that I was really in a bad place and that I needed to reach out for support. I found the strength internally to talk about my problems, to share my problems. I think that one phone call to Samaritans set me on a new path.”

Elaine Carey, Chief Commercial Officer at Three said: “Three is very proud of the partnership we have with Samaritans. At the heart of both organisations is the importance of communication and using the power of human connection to make people’s lives better. Samaritans Training School represents that synergy as we support Samaritans with the evolution of their service to help more people access emotional support, 24/7, 365 days a year.”

Sonya Trivedy, Executive Director of External Engagement at Samaritans said: “We’re really proud of our partnership with Three UK. Together, Samaritans and Three believe in the power of human connection and listening and we’re delighted that they are supporting Samaritans Training School.

“With Three’s help, Samaritans can adapt quickly to an ever-changing landscape and ensure we‘ll have enough volunteers to meet the high demand for our support both now and in the years to come.”

ENDS

Media contacts:

Three

Headland Consultancy

three@headlandconsultancy.com / 07454 959 715

Samaritans

Lauren Parsons
l.parsons@samaritans.org/ 07485 366 503

Notes to Editors:

About Three

Three launched in 2003 as the UK’s first 3G only network, laying its foundations as the network that was born to be different. Today Three is a connectivity company that connects people to people, people to things and things to things and has 10.3 million customers.

Our network today covers 99% of the UK population and we carry 29% of the UK’s mobile data traffic.

Three launched 5G in August 2019, is the largest holder of spectrum in the UK and has been recognised by Ookla as having the UK’s fastest 5G network. It is the only operator able to meet the International Telecoms Union (ITU) 2020 standard of 100MHz of contiguous spectrum for full 5G services.

Three UK is a proud partner of Samaritans, where it will use the strength of its network and technology to connect 1 million people to emotional support.

Three Best Wholesale Partner at the Mobile Industry Awards and Host Operator of the Year at MVNO World Congress.

Three UK is part of the CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd group of companies which has mobile operations in 11 countries. We employ more than 4,800 people across our offices in Reading and Glasgow and our 297 retail stores.

About Samaritans

Samaritans is a charity and it’s the public’s kind donations, corporate partnerships and more than 23,000 volunteers that mean we are always there for anyone struggling to cope.

Anyone can contact Samaritans FREE any time from any phone on 116 123, even a mobile without credit. This number won’t show up on your phone bill. Or you can email jo@samaritans.org  or visit www.samaritans.org  for more information.

Every 10 seconds, Samaritans responds to a call for help. Find out how you can support us or volunteer with us.