HRH The King invites Samaritans Scotland volunteer to prestigious garden party

(IN BRIEF) Deborah Hughes, a Samaritans Scotland volunteer, has been invited to a garden party hosted by HRH The King at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Deborah provides emotional support to callers by working shifts around her full-time job in financial services. She was selected to attend the party by the Samaritans Edinburgh branch, after being nominated by the Rt Hon Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh, Robert Aldridge. The event will take place on July 4, and Deborah hopes that her experience will encourage others to volunteer for Samaritans Scotland.

(PRESS RELEASE) EWELL, 26-Apr-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Samaritans, a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and the Ireland,

Samaritans Scotland, a charity that provides emotional support to callers, has announced that one of its volunteers, Deborah Hughes, has been invited to a garden party hosted by HRH The King at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The event, which will take place on July 4, is being hosted at the King’s Official residence in Scotland.

Deborah, from Midlothian, explained: “I screamed a lot when I saw the email inviting me to attend, then immediately phoned every single family member and all my friends!

“I am a huge fan of the Royal Family. I visited Buckingham Palace the day after Queen Elizabeth passed away, then I was in the front row on the Royal Mile when the family walked up from Holyrood to St Giles’ Cathedral with The Queen’s coffin. I also paid my respects to Her Majesty in St Giles’.

“I’m looking forward to going into the ground of Holyroodhouse, and of course, getting to see The King and Queen Consort. It will be one of his first events after the Coronation, so it feels very special to be a part of it.

“It will be wonderful to buy a hat, get dressed up and share such a lovely day out with my husband, Craig.”

Deborah, who is a full-time financial services worker and a mother of one, joined Samaritans Scotland as a listening volunteer. She provides emotional support to callers by working shifts around her job. The Edinburgh branch of Samaritans nominated Deborah to attend the party after being asked to nominate a volunteer by the Rt Hon Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh, Robert Aldridge. The branch then drew names from a hat to select Deborah for this honor.

She said: “I had been thinking about getting involved in charity work for some time, but hadn’t found the right organisation.

“I always feel very lucky that I have a really good circle of friends and family around me and the thought of someone not having anyone to talk to makes me sad. I can talk and I can listen, so why not do something to help other people? I saw an appeal for volunteers for Samaritans and decided to put myself forward.

“I started my training in November 2021 and took my first real call in January 2022, so I am very new to the role and still learning on every shift.

“I have a full-time job, a family and various hobbies so the most challenging is finding the time to do the shifts, however, I have a very supportive employer who allows me to flex my hours to fit shifts and my husband is an amazing support.

“When on shift I find the most challenging thing is not knowing what is coming, you answer that call and you have no idea what the person is going to say, but as I do more shifts it is becoming a little easier.”

Deborah also expressed her hope that her experience would encourage others to consider volunteering for Samaritans Scotland.

She added: “I get a real sense of making a difference after every shift, just being a voice on the other end of a phone can have such a positive impact on the caller. It is often very apparent and the caller will tell you that – that’s why I do the role.”

Media contacts:

+44 (0)20 8394 8300
press@samaritans.org.

SOURCE: Samaritans

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