The Isle of Man branch of the Samaritans is celebrating its 45th anniversary, marking decades of providing emotional support to the local community. A drinks reception, hosted by the Mayor of Douglas, Natalie Byron-Teare, took place at the mayor’s parlour in City Hall on September 29 to commemorate the milestone. Founded in 1979, the Isle of Man branch was established by local volunteers to offer support to those facing emotional challenges.

Over the years, the branch has worked closely with individuals, businesses and local groups, offering services like their ‘Learn to Listen’ sessions.

These free workshops and presentations help educate the community on how to provide emotional support to others. The Samaritans organisation, which celebrated its 70th anniversary last year, was originally founded in 1953 by Chad Varah.

From its humble beginnings with only one volunteer, it has grown into a global network with more than 22,000 volunteers across more than 200 branches, including the Isle of Man.

Mike Nudd, Isle of Man Samaritans branch director, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted that Isle of Man Samaritans has reached its 45th year milestone.

‘I would firstly like to thank Mrs Byron-Teare, the Mayor of Douglas, for hosting our 45th anniversary celebration.

‘It was a perfect opportunity for our volunteers to meet her and to talk about what we do within the charity.

‘I would also like to thank each and every one of our volunteers, past and present, because without them, we just couldn’t do what we do.’ ‘Our 45th celebration was a great success’, continued Mike.

‘It was nice to celebrate with so many of our volunteers, and of course, we were honoured to also be joined by His Excellency, the Lieutenant Governor and our Patron Lady Lorimer.

‘I would finally like to thank our community for their continued support and the donations we receive.’

You can find out more about the Samaritans work here: www.samaritans.org/support-us/volunteer/