Samaritans given a boost by ‘Abbarettes’ tribute concert

The Abbarettes and (left to right) Liz, Eleanor, Margaret and Lorraine - some of the Samaritan volunteers who helped to put on the evening’s entertainment

The Rochdale, Oldham and District Branch of Samaritans raised over £1000 for their funds at an Abba tribute concert performed by ‘The Abbarettes’ on Friday (24 September 2010).

Heywood Civic Centre rang to the sounds of “Dancing Queen”, “Money, Money, Money” and, of course, “Mama Mia” as more than 250 people from 5 to 75 years old, danced their way through the evening.

The event has been described as having a “bright” and “infectious” atmosphere, well led by the Band’s lead singer, Laura Purdey.

Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely and generously took part in the other fundraising activities on the night, such as the raffle and 50/50 tombola.

The prizes were donated by various local businesses and individuals all of whom Samaritans would like to thank.

MP for Middleton and Heywood, Jim Dobbin, a long term supporter of the Samaritans, was amongst the guests.

“The Branch, based at 5, Caton Street, offers emotional support 24/7, 365 days a year, by phone, email or face-to-face to anyone in distress in total confidence and without prejudice”, said the Branch Chairwoman, Eleanor Marshall.

“We also work with prisoners at Buckley Hall, local schools, mental health services and the railway station staff and passengers at Todmorden, where incidents have occurred in the past. We do all this with only 40 volunteers, so we will always be happy to hear from anyone who would like to join us.

“We took a risk staging this concert as we had to pay out some money from our meagre funds, but it was a great success and the final figure may well be more. This is wonderful because we are an entirely self-funding, separate charity under the umbrella of the Samaritan Organisation.”

“Thanks to everyone for their hard work and support for this event. We’ll be doing something else soon.”