…Proceeds will help Samaritans bring its chat service pilot to launch…
Nominet, the profit with a purpose company best-known for managing the .UK domain namespace, will donate £1 to the Samaritans for every new, paid for .UK domain registered from 9 December 2019 until 17 January 2020.
Funds raised through new domain registrations ending in .co.uk, .uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .ltd.uk, .plc.uk and .net.uk, will support Samaritans’ work developing its vital webchat service from its pilot stage to launch.
Samaritans, the leading suicide prevention charity, the only organisation that provides free emotional support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to anyone across the UK and Ireland who is struggling to cope. The latest suicide rates in the UK rose for the first time in five years and revealed, in particular, in recent years the rate of suicide in young people has increased1.
Samaritans’ webchat pilots have already demonstrated clear evidence of the need for this service, with the charity receiving many first-time contacts from young people in states of severe distress. The aim is to make the online environment safer for young people by offering them more ways to contact Samaritans, ensuring the charity’s vital services are accessible to everyone and in ways that work best for the user.
Eleanor Bradley, Managing Director of Registry Solutions and who leads Nominet’s public benefit programme, said: “We’re focused on delivering public benefit initiatives that promote connectivity, inclusivity and security, and whether it is helping Samaritans raise funds to support their crucial interaction with those in need, or to help build and finance new tools that will improve the important services they offer, we are committed to helping them.”
Francis Bacon, Assistant Director of Digital Services and Change, Samaritans said: “Nominet is already supporting us to build essential new digital products that will enable Samaritans to improve our services and reach more people who need them. We’re very grateful that they have chosen to support us even further with this festive fundraising initiative via .UK domain registrations. The additional contribution will accelerate our ability to bring our webchat pilot to launch, which will be a milestone achievement for the charity as we endeavour to always be there for everyone.”
Nominet is a Samaritans Digital Transformation partner. Earlier this year, Nominet announced it is providing £175,000, in addition to lending their expertise as one of the country’s leading technology companies, to support the development of the two new digital products. These are a self-help tool for coping with distress and suicidal thoughts, and a new system which will allow volunteers to respond to significant volumes of additional contacts. Overall, with a guaranteed minimum contribution from the .UK registration campaign of £140k, Nominet’s total contribution to Samaritans will be over £300k.
In 2018, Nominet supported Children in Need with a similar domain registrations initiative. The funds raised went towards the charity’s projects that use digital or new technology to support disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.
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Notes for Editors:
- *Source: Office of National Statistics – Suicides in the UK: 2018 registrations (excludes Republic of Ireland data). https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2018registrations
About the donation
New, paid for .UK domain registrations registered between 9 December 2019 and midnight on 17 January 2020 qualify for the £1 donation to Samaritans by Nominet. This applies to domain names ending in .co.uk, .uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .ltd.uk, .plc.uk and .net.uk. Domains registered free as part of any Nominet domain promotion will not qualify for the £1 donation. https://www.theukdomain.uk/samaritans-toolkit/
For further information
Samaritans Media team please contact [email protected] or call 0208 394 8300
Nominet Press Office, Brands2Life, +44 (0)20 7592 1200, [email protected]
About Samaritans
Anyone can contact Samaritans FREE any time from any phone on 116 123, even a mobile without credit. This number won’t show up on your phone bill. Or you can email [email protected] or visit www.samaritans.org to find details of your nearest branch, where you can talk to one of our trained volunteers face to face.
Samaritans responds to more than 5 million calls for help a year.
About Nominet
Nominet is driven by a commitment to use technology to improve connectivity, security and inclusivity online. For over 20 years, Nominet has run the .UK internet infrastructure, developing an expertise in the Domain Name System (DNS) that now underpins sophisticated threat monitoring, detection, prevention, and analytics that is used by governments and enterprises to mitigate cyber threats. www.nominet.uk.
About Nominet’s Public Benefit programme
Our public benefit programme aims to improve the lives of one million people, providing support and opportunities to tackle some of the most important digital issues facing young people in the UK today.
We believe in a UK that is connected, inclusive and secure. Our public benefit strategy drives this ambition, formalising our social impact with a focus on initiatives that promote greater connectivity, inclusivity and security. We work to create lasting improvements by targeting a range of emerging issues born out of our digital age, such as online safety and digital inclusion. We also address long-standing social challenges in which technology can play a pivotal role. https://nominet.uk/tech-for-good/public-benefit/