In conjunction with International Women's Day in March 2023, this #MarysVoice campaign aims to fundraise for the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) - led by committed and passionate volunteers who lend a listening ear and their voices to individuals in distress.

Inspired by Mary Mathew, a dear and special friend who first joined SOS as a volunteer and later on became the Executive Director, we want to celebrate women who tirelessly give back to the community through their voices. During her time at SOS, Mary pioneered several training and loss programmes including Healing Bridge, a support group for suicide survivors, for those who have lost a loved one or someone they knew, to suicide.

We dearly miss Mary who had left us too soon. However her voice inspires many others to continue her purposeful and meaningful mission at SOS, and some like us, to step forward to have our voices heard to reach out to the community to raise the awareness of mental well-being and to support the prevention of suicides (with an alarming increase by about 23% increase in the number among youths aged 10-19 years!)

In #MarysVoice, we have - One voice heard, many lives touched.

We appreciate your participation in this campaign and appeal for your generous donation.

All eligible donations are entitled to 2.5 times tax deduction of the donated amount.

From now till 31 March 2023, your donated sum will also be matched 1 for 1 by the Singapore Tote Board.

Thank you for your support!

In conjunction with International Women's Day in March, SOS's #HerVoice fundraising campaign aims to encourage women to use their voices to be heard, to empower one another and be unified as one community to provide support and prevent suicides.

Any experience, regardless of how small it is, is worth sharing, so that someone else can hear it and it could make a difference in someone's life.

At the same time, to fundraise for SOS so that we can continue to enhance our programmes, services and client support infrastructure and ensure that they remain free and accessible for all who may need our support.

Founded in 1969, Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) is the leading suicide prevention agency in Singapore. Secular and not for profit, we provide 24-hour confidential emotional support to individuals facing a crisis, thinking about or affected by suicide. Through our programmes and services focused on suicide prevention, intervention, postvention, we hope to provide timely support to those in distress.

From 2016 to 2021, an average of 402 lives were lost to suicide in Singapore annually. This equates to more than one suicide death per day. With discussions surrounding mental health and suicide prevention more prevalent than ever, now is the time for us to make a change together.

WHAT YOUR DONATIONS CAN DO
With a 17.4% increase in the number of hotline calls answered and a 120% increase in the number of CareText messages replied, your donations will be important in helping SOS to match the rising demand for support amongst at-risk individuals across Singapore.

A donation of $1,000 can help SOS train our volunteers to take up 190 hotline calls, 290 CareText chats, or further support our CareMail platform or counselling sessions. Beyond enhancing our programmes and services, your donations will also allow us to continue providing our resources free of charge to those who need it most.

All funds donated will be dedicated towards SOS' enhancement and expansion of services and infrastructure. SOS also reserves all rights to pledge funds toward our Signature events.