Telephone

The young vicar Chad Varah worked in the parish of St Stephen, Walbrook, in the City of London. Through his work he witnessed the range and extent of distress experienced by people everywhere, every day. Anxious to do more for those unable to cope with the demands of modern life, Varah founded the Samaritans charity in 1953. The Brent branch of the Samaritans donated a telephone to the Collecting 2000 project as a symbol of its helpline, and wrote:
'Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, the Samaritans are available to those who are passing through personal crisis or who may be feeling suicidal - in total confidence. The Samaritans take 4.5 million calls a year and have approximately 20,000 volunteers. Phone (0345 90 90 90), visit or e-mail (www.samaritans.org.uk).'