Programs
It has always been the mission of The Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands to accept incoming calls from people who are isolated, desperate, and even suicidal on our Crisis Lines. Coverage of these phone lines by trained, dedicated volunteers is as close to 24/7 as possible, and our major fund raisers help defray telephone expenses incurred.
In the Senior Outreach Program, which has been supported by The C. Northrop Pond and Alethea Marder Pond Foundation, we encourage seniors who are not accustomed to reaching out for assistance to call our help lines as they face the challenges of living longer. We also make outgoing calls to seniors referred by Councils on Aging, in order to widen their support system. Volunteers, seniors, our Executive Director, and the Outreach Coordinators have an ongoing dialogue which provides the compassion of a human voice as well as a safety net for seniors throughout the Cape and Islands.
The goal of the BRAVO (Befrienders Raising Awareness of Veterans Outreach) program, sponsored in part by The Palmer and Jane D. Davenport Foundation, is to meet the needs of veterans and their families who are dealing with deployment issues, struggling with re-entry into normal every day living upon their return, and worrying that reaching out for help is a sign of failure.
Safe Place, sponsored in part by the Cape Cod Five Charitable Foundation Trust, is a support group for those who have lost someone to suicide. The facilitators of this group are Samaritan trained and are suicide survivors themselves. Safe Place is a place for dealing with a unique grief that is often not understood by others. It honors and respects the needs of those who have lost someone to suicide, it provides unconditional emotional support, and it helps survivors gain strength and courage from one another. It is confidential, ongoing, and free to participants.
Events
Monica Dickens ChallengeThe sun came out just in time to brighten the day for the Samaritan Eighth Annual Monica Dickens Challenge held at Pocasset Golf Club on June 29th, 2009. Addressing the participants, Board President Peter Clark said:
In participating today you have assisted a service that is crucial for many people who are lonely and desperate, who are stricken with grief, who are bewildered and depressed by the condition of their lives. Some are at the point of suicide, but most need the dependable befriending talents of trained volunteers, who listen with compassion and respond supportively.
Participating in this major fundraiser were 72 golfers, 16 bocce players, and a host of supporters and volunteers.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our Silver Sponsor - Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation, corporate sponsors - Falmouth Toyota, Edwin Watts Golf, Gilbane Building and Conroy Development Corporation and individual sponsors - Pip Danby, Russ Lemcke, Meg Becker and Peter Clark & Ellen Barol.
We are also grateful to our Auction and Raffle Donors including F.C. Phillips Co., Olga Mitchell Aerial Sightseeing, White Cliffs Country Club, Pocasset Golf Club, New Seabury Golf Club, Brookside Golf Club, Woods Hole Golf Club, Amy Hamilton Photography, Green Mountain Inn, VT, Wellfleet Clock Co., Tony and Mary Colacchio, Ladies Workout Express, Pilgrim Belle Cruises, Woods Hole Steamship Authority, Lawrence Gardens, Hair Boutique III, Mahoney's Garden Center, Homespun Garden, and the Samaritan Board of Directors.
Other generous contributors included Chapman, Cole & Gleason, Woods Hole Steamship Authority, and many wonderful individual patrons.
Tremendous teamwork, under the direction of our dedicated Golf Chair, Tony Colacchio, helped raise more than $15,000 to help sustain vital Samaritan programs. The residents of the Cape and Islands, as well as crisis line callers from across the United States, rely on the Samaritans and peoples' willingness to give. Thank you for caring.
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Picture Perfect Bocce Day
The 2nd Annual Upper Cape Bocce Festival, held to support The Samaritans, gathered 64 players on September 26, 2009 from 1:30 - 4:30 PM. Falmouth Academy graciously hosted the event on their athletic fields, The Falmouth Enterprise assisted on publicity, the Pepsi Cola Metropolitan Bottling Company of Sagamore Beach generously donated soft drinks, and PGM Landscaping of Falmouth was a sponsor for the second year. Prizes, tents and sound equipment were provided by "friends of befrienders".
Awards included: Best Costume - Peaches and Prunes, Greatest Travelers - Mighty Shamrocks from Dorchester, & Best Name - Snati-Ramas (Samaritans backwards).
Winning teams were: Division I - Everlasting Summer, Division II - Purple Pineapples, Division III - Bocce Belles, and Division IV - Killer Wombats.
Fifteen raffled theme baskets, plus a 50/50 raffle gave participanst a chance to end the day with a prize in hand. All, however, left proud to have contributed to the Samaritan programs so vital to the well-being of Cape and Island residents.
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