Samarivans!

I am so thrilled to announce the launch of SAMARIVANS, to raise money for my local branch of Samaritans.

!UPDATE! eBay auction here !UPDATE!

I have bipolar disorder, which I am currently in remission from, having not had an episode in 4 years. In the past however, during severe episodes of debilitating depression, which resulted in me going into hospital on several occasions, Samaritans provided a lifeline for me. I feel passionately about fundraising to say thank you to such a wonderful charity that has saved my life more than once.

I came up with the idea for my fundraiser thanks to Background Bob, a project I myself contributed to. Background Bob is Noah and his dad Nathan Jones. 14-year-old Noah has Hydrocephalus, Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy, and started painting abstract backgrounds and began by asking street artists they knew to paint on them. He has since collaborated with over 750 artists and celebrities from Grayson Perry to Ed Sheeran! I wondered how could I get all the artists I know to come together creatively & raise money? I’ve been painting camper van stencils for years…I’ll invite artists and creatives to create their own version, have a pop-up exhibition and auction them online. SAMARIVANS was born! Alongside over 100 artists already, including Tom Hovey (Great British Bake Off) Hayden Kays & Pete McKee. I also have some very well known names, including Joe Lycett, Keith Lemon, Jodie Whittaker, Ricky Wilson, Timmy Mallett, Su Pollard, Eddie the Eagle and West End & Broadway star Kerry Ellis on board!

We have put together an amazing team, in a matter of weeks, including Danny Pearson, the Community/Partnerships Officer from North Herts District Council and Ilsa Hawtin, Director of North Herts & Stevenage Samaritans, who is over the moon with the idea. She said the following… ‘this is just fantastic news; I can't thank you enough for your brilliant idea for fundraising for Samaritans. Our branch is self-funded, with nearly all funds to keep us in operation raised by our existing volunteers. We are also hoping to move in the not-too-distant future to a larger premises, to enable us to continue to grow and increase the support we provide to all callers (nationally and locally), and we will have to fundraise more than ever to enable that.’ We also have Rachel Campbell who works for Samaritans, and in her day job is a project manager and Katerina Meccano, a fantastic graphic designer and very dear friend of mine.
Incredibly Arkley Fine Art (16-17 Hermitage Rd, Hitchin SG5 1BT) are displaying all the vans at an exhibition which will run from the 22-29 Sept ‘23. All works will then be auctioned online.

I will also be doing a workshop with pupils from my old primary school, Oughton Primary and Nursery School in Hitchin, where they will create their very own Samaritan drawings, and we hope to exhibit them all somewhere in the town.

We already have several businesses sponsoring the event, but if you are interested in supporting us, we are using a PR company and hoping for a great deal of publicity, please email Rachel Campbell

If you are an artist interested in creating your own unique van, please email David Atkins.