There must be mixed emotions at Samaritans today – the day of the funeral of Claire Squires. Had she lived, her contribution to the charity from her London Marathon run would probably have been a few thousand pounds. Since her death, it has received a windfall of more than a million pounds in the space of a week. Living with good fortune that flows from tragedy is never entirely comfortable. Other charities must envy Samaritans – yet not envy them.
The windfall amounts to about a tenth of Samaritans’ annual income, and comes in that most desirable form – unrestricted funds. There must have been a gnawing temptation to start buying photocopiers and mending the roof. But that was wisely resisted and the money has gone into a special fund that will be spent in consultation with the bereaved family.
Another heartening aspect was the decision by Justgiving not to levy its usual fee on the donations made through Claire’s web page. Donors were urging them to do this, but they could have kept quiet and taken their cut of the windfall. Instead they quickly decided not to do so – a smart PR move as well as an act of generosity.
Fundraisers would love to define and bottle the motivations of this extraordinary episode. But surely it’s something that can’t be engineered or manipulated. It’s just one of those terrible things life throws out, from which some good can perhaps be salvaged.