M&S customers and colleagues help smash £2m fundraising milestone in first year of YoungMinds partnership

The Marks & Spencer's and YoungMinds charity partnership, which launched in October 2023, has already raised over £2 million.

M&S launches 'Hello Yellow' collection to raise funds for mental health charity

• M&S reaches £2m fundraising milestone ahead of this year’s Hello Yellow campaign

• Hello Yellow marks World Mental Health Day on 10th October, encourages wearing yellow to support young people’s mental health

• M&S x YoungMinds ambassador Rochelle Humes launches Buddy Bench giveaway for schools signing up to take part in Hello Yellow

Thanks to the incredible support from M&S colleagues and customers, the M&S and YoungMinds charity partnership has already raised over £2million to support young people's mental health.

The charity partnership was launched last year and aims to raise £5million over the next 3 years. This will enable YoungMinds to double its reach to support seven million young people and the adults in their lives through easy to access online resources and its dedicated Parent’s Helpline.

With five pupils in every classroom saying that they are having difficulty coping, M&S and YoungMinds are calling on everyone to stand together in a coalition of the hopeful in support of young people’s mental health this October.

Now M&S and YoungMinds are going even bigger with ambitious plans for Hello Yellow, which marks World Mental Health Day on 10th of October. Every year for Hello Yellow, YoungMinds calls on teachers, pupils, parents and colleagues to wear yellow on the day, to show young people that they are not alone with their mental health. This year, with M&S’ support, the charity is looking to expand the reach of the campaign with more schools taking part so more children can participate. Schools that sign up will receive free resources to support young people’s mental health, including a video in partnership with The Doodle Boy encouraging young people to doodle what makes them happy.

A new initiative, spearheaded by M&S x YoungMinds ambassador and mum, Rochelle Hulmes is rewarding schools signing up for Hello Yellow with free 'Buddy Benches'. One hundred benches are up for grabs, to provide kids with an easy way to signal a need for friendship and support. Each buddy bench is made from 95kg of recycled plastic, collected in M&S stores across the country. Schools can sign up for Hello Yellow here: Hello Yellow | World Mental Health Day | YoungMinds

To celebrate M&S is also launching a brand new ‘Hello Yellow’ kidswear collection in collaboration with YoungMinds and The Doodle Boy. This special collection, which includes yellow hoodies, t-shirts, socks, beanie hats, wristbands and stress balls, encourages customers to ‘wear it loud, wear it proud’. All profits from the collection will be donated to YoungMinds. Till donations at M&S stores and online, as well as in-store and digital marketing to customers went live on 26th September running for two weeks to raise even more funds to support young people’s mental health.

Victoria McKenzie-Gould, Corporate Affairs Director at M&S, said: “A year ago, we announced our three-year partnership with YoungMinds and it’s been an incredible year! We’re so proud that we’ve already raised over £2m of our £5m goal, absolutely smashing our first year target! This year for Hello Yellow we’re helping to raise awareness across the country and get more schools signed up than ever before. We’re encouraging as many of our colleagues, friends, family, schools and customers to wear yellow on 10th October to join our coalition of the hopeful, because together, we’ve got this.”

Laura Bunt, Chief Executive of YoungMinds, said: “More young people than ever are struggling with their mental health. Schools and teachers can play a crucial role in supporting young people and we know many are calling for more resources to be able to better help their pupils. Every school taking part in Hello Yellow will help show young people they’re not alone with their mental health. Our M&S x YoungMinds Buddy Benches offer young people a dedicated place to talk with their friends when they are struggling with their feelings.

“This is the latest step in our partnership with M&S which has so far raised over £2m. Every donation helps our work to support young people’s mental health.”

Rochelle Humes, M&S x YoungMinds partnership ambassador, said: “As a mum of three children, it’s so reassuring to see the support that YoungMinds gives to young people and the adults in their lives, and it’s clear that getting the conversation started is the first step to young people not feeling alone with their mental health. That’s why I’m so pleased to be encouraging schools to sign up for Hello Yellow as the M&S x YoungMinds Partnership Ambassador. The Buddy Bench is a fantastic prize for any school to create a safe place for children to go when they feel that they need some support. Let’s all stand together on 10th October to wear it loud and wear it proud!”?

M&S x YoungMinds launched their charity partnership in October 2023 to raise awareness of the help available to young people struggling with their mental health and the adults in their lives, as well as vital funds for research and resources. The partnership launched with research looking to understand young people’s mental health.

M&S donated £1 million to kick off the partnership. Earlier this year the retailer announced that 5p from the sale of every Farmhouse loaf would be donated to YoungMinds. The brand has also launched a dedicated kidswear collection in partnership with Joe Whale, aka The Doodle Boy, with all profits donated to the charity. In June, M&S colleagues across the country took part in a fundraising drive.

Rochelle Humes is an M&S Food Ambassador, as well as the Ambassador for the M&S x YoungMinds Partnership

*All profits from the Doodle Boy collection (minimum of £70,000) will be paid to YoungMinds Trading Limited (registered company number 13226019) which gives all its taxable profits to YoungMinds (registered charity in England & Wales (1016968), Scotland (SC039700) and operating in Northern Ireland).