A GLOOMY, secretive organisation? A semi-religious group? Even a club for the "twinset and pearls" brigade?

If these images come to mind when you think of the Samaritans, members of the Bury branch are determined to prove you wrong.

The group is celebrating its 20th birthday and is determined to keep pushing forward into the 21st century: seeking more volunteers, raising much-needed funds, and helping callers, particularly the young, by going on-line.

Two years ago, the Samaritans moved to their new town centre offices at 13 Knowsley Street, Bury: opposite the clock tower next to Bury Town Hall.

But being easier to reach brings a greater demand for help. Starting tomorrow (Saturday Sept 1), the Samaritans embark on a month-long recruitment campaign.

They point out that it is a non-religious organisation, dedicated to offering a confidential listening service to distressed or suicidal people of all ages and background, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Callers are not all suicidal: many people feel in despair at some point in their life and need to talk, whether they be lonely, an abused child, or terminally ill. They feel they cannot talk about their feelings with friends, family or work colleagues. Mr Jonathon Elwood, director of Bury Samaritans, said: "It would be a great pleasure if I could say that our service is less needed today than before, but sadly the opposite is true. All our statistics clearly show the rate of suicide is on the increase.

"We hope to develop our outreach work focused on some of the most vulnerable groups on the community. But every time we hear of a suicide in Bury, we are saddened that we have perhaps not been in touch with yet another distressed person who saw that taking their life was the only solution to their troubles.

"It would be really good to have more young people to join us as volunteers."

To be a Samaritan, you need to be over 18 and willing to give a few hours each week.

Mr John Anthony, fund-raising officer, said that Bury took on 16 people last year, but 15 have since left because of family reasons, moving job or illness.

"You don't need any formal qualifications whatsoever," he said. "You need to be open-minded and not judgemental, and able to listen.

"Most callers talk to us by phone, and discussions are confidential. We don't have a "1471" facility, and we only ring back if specifically asked to.

"Other people prefer to confide in person, and we are taking more visitors now we have moved to Knowsley Street."

Volunteers receive several sessions of training, then become an observer before talking to clients on the phone themselves.

"However, you don't have to become a listening volunteer," said Mr Anthony. "You can help us with fund-raising, or with computer skills: one person even does the gardening here!".

Fund-raising is another area where the Samaritans are making a major push.

Mr Anthony is writing to 200 local companies, enclosing a disk which outlines how much difference just a small donation or gesture can make.

The Bury office needs at least £18,000 a year to keep running, it costs £7.5 million a year nationally, and suggests various ways in which firms could provide help, for instance by sponsoring a volunteer or a telephone line for a week. Companies could also hold events in-house to raise money, such as a regular football card.

Finally, the Bury Samaritans hope to have an email site up and running by Christmas, following the example of other branches around the country.

"The age range between 15 and 24 is a massive area for suicide," said Mr Anthony. "A lot of people that age like to communicate through email and texting, and the service may become more accessible to them by this. It's a first step, and it might help some young men especially who find it difficult to talk in person."

Bury Samaritans are holding two open events next month when people can come along and find out more. They are on Thursday September 27 at 7.30pm, and then on Saturday September 29 at 11am.

The contact number for Bury

Samaritans, any time of day or night, is 0161 764 0055. You can email them in confidence at the address jo@samaritans.org, or for anonymous email see www.samaritans.org/sams/html/anonemail.htm