Samaritans dedicate room to charity stalwart

The Samaritans has dedicated the training room in its Exeter premises to a volunteer who has raised over £75,000 for the charity over 30 years.

Ann Pearce-Mariner (pictured), from Haven Banks in Exeter, has since the 1980s led a team of other volunteers creating hand-made cards, soft toys and blankets.

All proceeds from their sale have gone to the Exeter, Mid and East Devon branch of the charity - and that has been over £75,000 in total.

In the 1980s and 1990s Ann and her team sold the crafts at the old Exeter market for several days a week. Now she specialises in creating greetings cards which are sold by a shop on Exeter’s Magdalen Road and at craft fairs and local markets across the city and nearby areas, as well as at ad hoc events and coffee mornings.

To commemorate her work, the training room at the branch premises in Richmond Road, Exeter, has been renamed.

“As a charity we rely on volunteers - we’ve got over 100 of them - but Ann is without doubt one of the most dedicated and hard-working. She started fund-raising in the 1980s when her late husband Roy was director of the local branch, and she has never been anything less than totally dedicated. We owe her a great deal” says the current branch director, Helen Crossfield.

“Our training room is used by all of our volunteers for their introductory training and for update training each year. It’s our busiest room and it’s fitting that it should be named after our busiest fund-raiser” says Helen.

Samaritans provides support to people distressed or in despair which may lead to thoughts of suicide. People can talk to us at any time on 01392 411711 in their own way and in confidence, about whatever is going on in their life. They can also email jo@samaritans.org or visit our centre at 10 Richmond Road, Exeter, EX4 4JA.