Hi, I'm Mark, and #Donate60 is the name of my JustGiving fundraising campaign on behalf of Stratford & District Samaritans.

My ultimate objective is to ensure that fewer people die by suicide.

Samaritans provide listening and messaging services for those in emotional crisis. In 2024 we received over 3 million calls and 450,000 email and online chat messages and more than one in four of those are from people actively experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Stratford & District Samaritans is local affiliated charity and one of the network of 185 separate Samaritans branches nationwide that collectively deliver the Samaritans service.

We have around 120 fully trained volunteers drawn from Kenilworth, Leamington Spa, Shipston, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick and surrounding areas. As a branch, we typically contribute 20,000 hours of telephone support (4x the national average) and 3,000 message responses to the national Samaritans effort each year.

I tragically lost my mother to cancer and then my father to suicide in my 20's, and I've been a proud supporter, volunteer and/or trustee of Stratford & District Samaritans for over 25 years.

#Donate60 reflects my commitment to raising the money required for us to be there for others in their hour of need.

A phone call answered by a trained Samaritan can literally change the direction of someone's life, and yet we receive no government funding and it's a constant struggle to raise the money we need to meet our operating costs.

#Donate60 consists of two main initiatives:

1. I do whatever I can to help raise funds personally. You'll regularly see me out busking on the streets of my home town and performing my "Human Jukebox" act (a list of popular songs I can play on request) as "Mark Jeffs - Singer & Guitarist" on TikTok and at open mic nights, private parties, festivals and pub gigs locally, around the UK and occasionally beyond!

2. I actively encourage the people and organisations I meet within my personal and social networks to find creative, fun and effective ways to help and support Samaritans by raising money and awareness for #Donate60

In whatever way YOU help #Donate60, thank you for being a #GoodSamaritan 🙏👏👍👌💪