Slippers a few quid for Stress Down Day

Employees at Northern Rock swapped their shoes for slippers in a day which raised another £4,000 for Samaritans on its annual fixture in the fundraising calendar, Stress Down Day.

Friday 4th February saw staff at North East-based residential mortgage and savings bank Northern Rock, dress in slippers and comfy clothes selling fluffy green slippers, holding a raffle, and organising a sponsored leg wax - all in the name of charity.

This was the 10th fundraising day organised by staff at the bank as part of a calendar of events to raise crucial funds for Samaritans which employees selected as their charity of the year for 2010/11. So far, almost £70,000 has been raised during the partnership, including matching by The Northern Rock Foundation.

Samaritans offers 24/7 non-judgemental, confidential emotional support by phone, email, letter and face-to-face. Funds raised from the day will be put towards a project updating Samaritans’ contact systems – Samaritans Connect. This pioneering system will allow the charity to answer 70,000 more calls each year, from people experiencing emotional distress across the UK and Ireland.

Rachel Kirby-Rider, Director of Fundraising at Samaritans said: “The effort put in by Northern Rock staff to make this year’s Stress Down Day a success is truly commendable. Over 150 pairs of slippers were sold and the leg waxing raised £160 alone – fantastic results! The vital funds raised will help us answer more calls from people in distress.”