Liz & Keds kick off Series 2 which is all about local mental health charities with an in-depth interview with Simon Koefman who has been volunteering for the local Samaritans branch in Crewe, Samaritans of South Cheshire for 7 years.

Simon is fundraising manager of the local mental health charity, he's also a listening volunteer, a mentor, and has previously been a treasurer for the charity too.

We asked Simon about how he came to be a volunteer for Samaritans, how people can get in touch with the charity if they need help, and how you can become a volunteer yourself.

The Samaritans is a free service for those struggling with their mental health and offer a 24-hour confidential phone line, you can contact them on 116 123 or email them at jo@samaritans.org

If you want to make a donation to Samaritans of South Cheshire there are various ways to donate:

1. Bank Transfer. Payments can be made directly to their Branch current account (Cooperative Bank ) Sort code 08-92-99 Account number 65826766
2. Branch website /Virgin Money giving . Via the main Samaritans website, navigate to "Crewe Samaritans " using the search engine for our secure donation portal. Alternatively via Virgin Money Giving, using " Samaritans of South Cheshire" as the search term. Donation link below  https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1018368
3. Cheque Payments (Samaritans of South Cheshire ) can be made by post, marked for the Branch Treasurer, and sent to our Branch at 2 Hall O’Shaw Street, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 4AE
4. Cash. Our least favoured option due to the "hassle factor" but can be paid over the counter via the Post Office or any Co-op bank, account details as above 
5. Text to Donate Simply text CREWESAMS to 70085 to make a £5 donation, collected via your mobile phone provider

If you are fundraising for Samaritans and would like any help and support, get in touch with Simon on simon.koefman@btinternet.com

You can also follow the local branch on Twitter for the latest news from the branch and Samaritansas a whole @CreweSams