M&S Milton Keynes launches the big fun-raiser for YoungMinds mental health support

M&S Milton Keynes has completed a week-long ‘Fun-raiser’ for YoungMinds, the leading mental health charity for young people, to raise awareness and much needed funds for those struggling with their mental health.

M&S Milton Keynes is just one of more than 360 stores across the UK that took on a challenge – to see how far they can go for the charity. The Milton Keynes team walked 75 miles on a treadmill, raising £1,100 for YoungMinds and customers can still donate in-store or via the M&S website here.

The activity is part of M&S’ partnership with Young Minds, announced in October 2023, aiming to raise £5million over the next three years to support young people’s mental health.

This will enable YoungMinds to support seven million young people and the adults in their lives through easy to access online resources and its dedicated Parent’s Helpline.

To kick-start the partnership, M&S made a £1 million donation, and the generosity of customers and colleagues has raised an additional £700,000 so far.

Last month, M&S also announced that 5p from the sale of every loaf in its Farmhouse loaf range would be donated to YoungMinds. The popular Farmhouse range is comprised of five different loaves and now has updated packaging to highlight the donation.

Research commissioned last year by M&S and Young Minds found that despite struggling with their mental health, 65% of young people hadn’t asked for any kind of formal support – 33% of those said they felt too embarrassed.

While loneliness was found to be the primary cause of mental health problems among the young people surveyed, 61% of those waiting for mental health support said they had stopped attending school, college, university or work – risking greater isolation form their friends.

Lindsey Cuthbertson, Store Manager at M&S Milton Keynes, said: “At Milton Keynes we’re proud to be supporting M&S on its fun-raising mission to provide mental health support to young people across the country. We had a great time doing our in-store treadmill walk and it was great to have our lovely customers cheer us on as they shopped. Thanks so much to everyone for their tremendous efforts and to all who donated – we really do appreciate your generosity! If anyone has a young person in their life, take a look at the support YoungMinds can offer online or ask a member of our team for more information.”

Laura Bunt, Chief Executive of YoungMinds, said: “Life is increasingly tough for young people and record numbers are in need of support for their mental health. When they’re able to access the help they need, things can get better, but the wait for support is often too long or the right support isn’t available. Together with M&S, we want to show young people that together we can turn things around. The incredible fundraising efforts by M&S will help us reach and support more young people and the adults in their lives.”