Samaritans DM appeal highlights needs for its services at Christmas
Howard Lake | 21 November 2011 | News
Samaritans is sending its Christmas direct mail appeal to active supporters this week, highlighting the importance of its service over the festive season, and asking for cash donations.
The pack, devised by engagement marketing agency TDA, includes a letter from a volunteer, emphasising how Christmas can be a difficult time for many people, as evidenced by the volume of calls the charity receives.
Supporters are thanked for previous donations and asked to consider making another gift. They are also invited to send personal messages of support, either online or via a ‘Christmas bauble’ device. Messages will be displayed on Samaritans’ website and on a Samaritans Christmas tree.
Daniel McAllister, Direct Marketing Manager at Samaritans said: “Last Christmas we took 192,308 calls over the Christmas fortnight, Samaritans needs to be there to answer every single call, not only over the Christmas period, but throughout the year.”
Andrea Lee, Account Director at TDA, explained why they focused on the role of the volunteer. “Volunteers are an integral part of Samaritans,” she said. “They have more than 18,750 volunteers across the UK and Ireland so we felt it was wholly appropriate to place a volunteer’s story at the heart of the campaign.”
www.samaritans.org
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.