Nisa retailer TYS Retail is making a difference by raising funds and awareness for mental health charity Mind, for its Time To Talk Day today.
In collaboration with Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally (MADL) charity, the store has kicked off a series of activities aimed at sparking conversations and breaking down stigma surrounding mental health issues.
Employees are encouraging customers to join in the effort by donating and participating in various in-store initiatives such as tombolas and Mind tote bag giveaways, aiming to raise between £700 to £1000.
Speaking to Convenience Store, Leon Swanwick manager of TYS Retail said: “We’re taking part in Time To Talk day, which is about raising money and awareness for mental health across our stores and in line with Making a Difference Locally charity. Mind has supplied us with posters for anyone who is struggling, and we have managed to get some free stock off suppliers.”
Leon also emphasised the importance for retailers to engage in mental health awareness initiatives: “We are a hub of the community and people come in every day to our stores. Especially elderly people that come in for a chat. We try and support people in every way and be part of the community around all our stores. In our community, people are struggling with mental health struggles in one way or another, whether they realise it or not. So, we are just doing that little bit that we can help. It’s so important to our community and we’ve done this last year and it’s just something everyone [employees] and I feel personally strongly about supporting people with their mental health.”
Kate Carroll head of charity at Nisa encouraged retailers to get in touch with Mind and to consider how they might be able to support their work in their local communities: “Talking about mental health isn’t always easy and sometimes it’s even harder to say how you really feel. But a conversation has the power to change lives. Time to Talk Day is the perfect opportunity to start a conversation about mental health and I’m delighted to help deliver a day of wellbeing activities, designed to give our colleagues time to talk and bring mental health to the forefront.”
The retail group was also recently praised for its commendable donation of £50,000 to community groups across in Peterborough, Stamford and St Neots, through Nisa’s MADL charity.
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