On Thursday 16 May at the prestigious awards ceremony in London, the UK-wide homebuilder and the suicide prevention charity won the Charity Partnership award in the property and construction category.

The Business Charity Awards, run by Third Sector, the UK publication for the charity and voluntary sector, is an annual event which celebrates the incredible synergy between business and charity, showcasing the companies which are leading the charge in creating positive change.

The award-winning homebuilder has partnered with Samaritans since 2020 and since then has donated more than £620,000 to the charity through corporate donations and the fundraising efforts of employees, suppliers and subcontractors. This is the equivalent of the amount it costs to respond to 124,000 calls for help.

The duo was shortlisted for the ‘Building Better Emotional Wellbeing’ campaign which has helped shift the conversation surrounding mental health and suicide within Cala.

The partnership was formed following the statistic that construction workers are almost four times more likely to die by suicide than the general public.

In an effort to reduce this statistic, the growing partnership has evolved since 2020 and this year sees both Cala and Samaritans continuing their work to build a better culture around mental health and emotional wellbeing amongst employees and subcontractor partners.

The partnership is part of Cala’s wider wellbeing strategy, with its primary aims to support the charity’s overall mission; connect more people to Samaritans lifesaving support; equip Cala’s employees and subcontractors with the skills needed to support each other and help breakdown the stigmas surrounding mental health.

Louise Poole, group people director at Cala Homes, said: “Our partnership with Samaritans has enabled us to give back to a vital charity through fundraising, donations, volunteering and more, something we’re incredibly proud of. But beyond that, it supports our wider wellbeing strategy, which focuses on our team’s emotional health.

“Thank you to the judges and of course, Samaritans – we are proud to be in partnership with this lifesaving charity.”

Jason Jaspal, assistant director of business development at Samaritans, added: “We’re incredibly proud of our continued partnership with Cala Homes, and are delighted that it’s been recognised with this prestigious award. This award is testament to every Cala colleague who has gone the extra mile to fundraise and raise awareness – all of this work plays an important role in shifting the conversation around emotional health in the construction industry and supports Samaritans’ overall vision that fewer people die by suicide.”

Samaritans volunteers offer listening and emotional support to people who are struggling to cope. People contact Samaritans for a variety of reasons including loneliness, bereavement, mental illness or suicidal thoughts.

The charity’s 23,000 volunteers spent almost one million hours responding to calls for help last year.