Samaritans welcome new branch directors

Swindon & District Samaritans have announced the appointment of their new Co-Directors who will be running the branch and its community outreach activities from 19 May 2025.

Francis Nodder and Bob Williams were nominated by their fellow listening and support volunteers to jointly lead the team. They both have around 10 years each experience as listening volunteers answering calls for help from people struggling to cope. In addition, the pair have taken on additional responsibilities for training and mentoring new and existing volunteers.

Together, Francis and Bob have talked about how honoured and excited they are to be taking up this post as Co-Branch Directors at Swindon & District Samaritans. Both feel passionate about what they do, not just within the branch but as an organisation, striving constantly to help and support those in need.

Francis joined Samaritans towards the end of his 30-year career in the Army. As a leader and personnel manager, he had learnt that everyone you meet has a hidden and private emotional self. Individuals can find it hard to share their true feelings and anyone’s emotional wellbeing can suddenly and rapidly deteriorate. The skills you learn with Samaritans give you the skills and platform to be there to provide confidential emotional support during someone’s darkest moments. The feeling that you have helped and maybe even saved a life is hugely rewarding.

Bob joined Sams “to see if he could do it”. In his HR career he had helped others to develop their communication skills but says that when he learned the Samaritans way of listening, he realised how this apparently simple, but vastly underestimated skill can be so important in helping people and in some cases can save lives. The Samaritans way has had a big impact on the way he communicates both as a Samaritan and in his personal life.

Francis and Bob are thankful to Lisa and Gary, the outgoing Co-Branch Directors for their leadership of Swindon & District Samaritans and support during this recent handover period.

With over 150 listening and support volunteers, Swindon & District Samaritans has been providing emotional support from its Swindon premises for nearly 60 years. Last year, listening volunteers from Swindon & District Samaritans answered over 10,000 calls and replied to around 2,000 emails from people in emotional distress.

The Branch is supported by a small shop which is located at 5/6 Curtis Street, Swindon SN1 5JU, and is run entirely by a team of volunteers. This provides most of the funding that allows the branch to provide its service. An early focus for Bob and Francis is to recruit extra volunteers to the shop team. It is a great community with many loyal customers.

If you have a couple of hours to spare each week the branch would love to hear from you.

If you would like to find out about volunteering with Swindon & District Samaritans please contact Francis and Bob via email: Swindon.director@samaritans and visit the website for more information www.samaritans.org/support-us/volunteer/