Eastbourne airbourne People’s Charity – Eastbourne & district Samaritans

Three have been put forward and the winner will receive a share of the bucket collection during the four day airshow.

One is the Eastbourne and district Samaritans.

Eastbourne and district Samaritans has been providing a service to the local community for more than 50 years.

The centre, The Haven, in central Eastbourne is open every day of the year from 10.30am-10.30pm and in addition volunteers take duties throughout the night.

A spokesperson said, “The charity is there to support people and their families with whatever is troubling them.

“You don’t have to be suicidal to contact Samaritans. Our aim is to reduce suffering and to bring comfort and a sense of calm to those who contact us.

“Last year in Eastbourne alone we helped more than 23,000 people by telephone, email and SMS together with 636 people who came in to see us. Our specially trained volunteers are also out in the community working with other organisations like the Salvation Army, Rebourne Centre, Network Rail, Prison Listener support, schools, colleges and universities.

“What makes us unique is that callers can speak to us in complete confidence, knowing they will accepted and heard. People tell us that it really does help to talk to someone about how they feel.

“We rely solely on our charity shop in Grove Road, our own fundraising and donations, for our income. All the money we raise goes directly to our centre and is spent on running and improving our service.

“We have recently introduced a third phone line to reduce waiting times, installed a lift to make our centre accessible and increased training capacity. We are staffed entirely by volunteers. Perhaps you might like to come and join us.

“Your support over the years means so much to us and we are very grateful for all the nominations that have got us this far. Thank you. We would be honoured to be the People’s Charity at this year’s Airbourne.”