Among the tens of thousands of runners taking part in this year’s TCS London Marathon will be some employees of South Western Railway (SWR) who will be supporting the Samaritans charity.

As well as raising much-needed funds, the runners will also raise awareness of the essential services the charity provides to those in crisis.

Every 10 seconds Samaritans volunteers answer a call from someone who is in need of help and someone to listen to.

South Western Railway employees running to raise funds for the charity include:

• Gemma Deedat is a train driver at Fratton depot in Portsmouth who has two children and has worked in the rail industry for 11 years and decided to run for Samaritans after an incident on her route. She hopes that her efforts will spread the message about the importance of Samaritans’ services.
• Mel Rappini from Southampton is a HR Business Partner who also has two children. She decided to raise funds for the charity after it helped her have tough conversations with loved ones struggling to cope.
• James Stearn, a Duty Control Manager from Surbiton.

Donations

The runners will welcome donations to their fundraising pages:

• Gemma Deedat https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/gemma-deedat
• Mel Rappini https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/mel-rappini
• James Stearn https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/jamesstearn

The railway industry has long had a collaboration with the Samaritans, including its “small talk can save lives” and “Brew Monday” campaigns.

I had not long come back from annual leave when the incident happened, and I’d only been driving on my own for seven months. The British Transport Police, paramedics, and my train guard were really supportive.

I have chosen to run for Samaritans because I am hoping it will show that calling them to speak with someone can make all the difference.

Gemma Deedat

Samaritans gives so much out to other people all the time, and I have used the information on its website to help support close friends and family who have previously been going through a tough time.

It was useful to understand how I can support them and know where they are coming from a little bit more.

It isn’t necessarily about saying to someone, ‘This is what you should do’, because there may be no right answer.

For people to know Samaritans are there any time to listen, it allows them to ease some of the weight off their shoulders and talk openly about what they’re going through.

Mel Rappini

Through my work in the control centre, I am well aware of the numbers of people who seek help through Samaritans and the great work they do.

Samaritans support is not only as a voice in times of need, but also in training rail staff so that they feel confident to make interventions which could just save a life if someone is in crisis.

James Stearn

I am in awe of the work Samaritans do.

We’ve worked together for many years and the positive impact of our partnership is felt by colleagues, customers, and the communities we serve all around our network.

We’re committed to playing an active role in safeguarding everyone who uses the railway and ensuring everyone knows they are in a safe pair of hands.

All of us at SWR are very proud of everyone taking part in this year’s marathon and will be cheering Gemma, Mel, and James every step of the way”

Daniel O’Riordan, South Western Railway Head of Security and Safety Assurance