We’re so proud to welcome Samaritans — the charity supporting anyone in distress, any time of day or night — to the Blink family. 23,000 volunteers and 300 staff across the UK and Ireland now have a single place to connect, communicate, and celebrate their collective impact.
And if their first-day buzz is anything to go by, this is going to be big. 💚
A digital front door built for a volunteer-powered organization
99% of Samaritans’ people are volunteers. That makes this launch a little different from our usual rollouts — less “sprint,” more “purposeful marathon.” Their approach has been thoughtful and rooted in accessibility and inclusion.
To meet their unique needs, the Blink and Samaritans project team spent the last few months building the platform with volunteers, for volunteers — including:
- Accessibility upgrades shaped by blind and visually impaired volunteers
- Default display of Sams names (the names used within some branches) for those volunteers who use them
- Meaningful tweaks driven by 260+ Blink Champions across the organization
The result: A modern social platform that feels intuitive, familiar, and built for how Samaritans actually works.
Blink truly feels like a platform designed to enhance connection while still making it accessible for all.
Annah, Listening Volunteer & Blink Champion
Bringing everyone together
While Samaritans has access to a variety of channels to support communication between volunteers and staff, different tools are used in different areas. Now, for the first time, every branch, hub, volunteer, and staff member has easy access to one shared digital channel.
On Blink, Samaritans can:
- Share organization-wide news and updates in real time
- Create dedicated spaces for fundraising, outreach, training, IT support, and more
- Run private branch groups that auto-sync membership via a central database
- Empower two-way conversations across teams and roles
- Keep personal phone numbers private while still enabling chat, voice, and video calls
Blink provides a new opportunity for us to improve the way we communicate and collaborate together here at Samaritans. It also supports communication within dedicated interest groups, where volunteers and staff can come together and share information or ask questions.
Charlotte, Engagement and Change Manager
A collaborative rollout with impact at the center
When we hosted the Samaritans internal comms team at our London office to mark the launch, their feedback was unanimous: Blink is the can-do partner they had been looking for.
They praised our collaborative partnership behind the scenes and willingness to take on tough challenges — from accessibility requirements to unique volunteer needs.
But the real magic starts now. As thousands of volunteers begin exploring Blink, contributing ideas, and shaping what communication looks like next, this rollout becomes something bigger: a stronger, more connected Samaritans community.
Welcome to Blink, Samaritans. Your impact is extraordinary — and we’re honored to help bring your people closer than ever.
