The Ealing Charity Christmas Card Shop paid tribute to the 70th anniversary of the founding of Samaritans, whose local branch was the first charity to join the card shop in 1985.

To mark the occasion were Ealing Mayor Councillor Hitesh Taylor and Ealing Hammersmith and Hounslow Samaritans branch director, Heena Johnson, along with representatives of some of the card shop's other charities.

The Mayor's visit took place on the 70th anniversary of the day in 1952 that Samaritans took its first telephone calls from those in emotional distress. 

Ealing Hammersmith and Hounslow branch director Heena Johnson said: "Without the support of fundraising initiatives like Ealing Charity Christmas Card Shop, our branch would unable to deliver on the vision of Samaritans founder Rev Chad Varah all those years ago."

Dr Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton (r) was one of the first customers at this year's Ealing Charity Christmas Card Shop and is pictured here with (l) Sue Green, its co-founder (image supplied).

The card shop opened this week for its 38th festive season at the Church of Christ the Saviour in Ealing, selling cards from 28 charities.

100% of the money raised from the Christmas card shop goes to charities across the country.

One of the shop's first customers was Dr Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton, who said: "I'm delighted to support yet again the Ealing Charity Christmas Card Shop with its fantastic selection of cards from charities that operate from the very local to all over the world."

With total sales since 1985 exceeding £900,000, the Ealing Charity Christmas Card Shop has supported more than 100 charities and sold five million cards to over 21,000 customers.

For 2023 there are more than 200 different designs of cards on sale in support of the local branches of the following 28 charities:

• Age UK Ealing
• Alzheimer's Society
• Book Aid International
• Bridge of Hope
• British Heart Foundation
• Cancer Research UK
• Cardiac Risk in the Young
• Christian Aid
• Combat Stress
• Cystic Fibrosis Trust,
• Diabetes UK
• Ealing Samaritans
• Ealing Amnesty International
• Epilepsy Research UK
• Facing the World
• Freedom From Torture
• Friends of Hammersmith Hospital
• Motor Neurone Disease Association
• Mind
• Multiple Sclerosis Trust
• Parkinson's UK
• RNLI
• Save the Children
• Soil Association
• Stella Maris - Apostleship of the Sea
• St Marks Hospital Foundation Trust
• Society of St Vincent de St Paul
• Transform Trade and Unique

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