Marks & Spencer is aiming to raise another £1.5m over the next year for the mental health charity YoungMinds, through customer donations and fundraising activities by staff.
YoungMinds provides services to help parents and young people navigate mental health challenges, through a free, confidential helpline. M&S has been raising money for the charity since 2023, when it kicked off the partnership with a £1m donation.
It initially pledged to grow that to £5m over three years, asking customers to round up their purchases by a few pence at checkouts and through staff fundraising challenges. However, the initiative has already raised £5.5m. The new £1.5m target will take the total to £7m.
M&S asks customers to donate at the till at ‘key moments’ such as on Hello Yellow Day in October, an annual fundraising event staged by YoungMinds. The retailer is doing so again during Children’s Mental Health Week from 9-15 February. Loyalty scheme members can also donate by selecting YoungMinds as their chosen charity in the M&S Sparks app.
Nearly 14,000 parents and carers were supported by the YoungMinds Parents Helpline last year, according to M&S. The top five concerns parents and carers called the helpline about were anxiety (14%), school problems (11%), anger/aggression (8%), autism spectrum disorder (7%) and behaviour management (6%).
M&S said the additional £1.5m could fund YoungMinds’ services and support for parents and carers for a whole year.
“Every young person deserves timely mental health support, yet we know too many are waiting far too long,” said M&S head of community Jo Daniels.
“That’s why our partnership with YoungMinds means so much to everyone at M&S – our colleagues and our customers alike. We are incredibly proud to have surpassed our original £5m target a year early, and we’re determined to keep going.
“By committing to raise a further £1.5m, we hope to help YoungMinds support more families during some of their most challenging moments. We believe no young person should be alone with their mental health and no adult should feel lost when they want to support.”
YoungMinds CEO Abigail Ampofo said: “No young person should have to wait hundreds of days for mental health support, but this is the shocking reality for thousands of young people.
“We hear about the many different pressures young people are experiencing and the calls YoungMinds advisers handle are often complex. It can be incredibly daunting and worrying for parents who are unsure about how to support their child, whether talking about it for the first time or being there for them while waiting to access services.
“We’re incredibly grateful to M&S for their support, which has helped us provide vital guidance and advice to young people and the adults in their lives. YoungMinds Parents Helpline supports parents and carers in some of their most difficult moments and funding like this helps make sure we can be there for those who need us.”
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