Lidl Ireland has completed it's six-year charity partnership with Jigsaw, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health in Ireland, by announcing it has raised €3 million in funds for the charity.
Jigsaw provides free confidential, professional support to young people aged 12-25 in 14 centres across Ireland and online. Lidl Ireland has partnered with Jigsaw since 2018 and twice extended its contract with the charity to continue delivering vital mental health initiatives and services to those in need across Ireland, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and its significant impact on youth mental health.
Supported by its team of more than 6,000 employees and 2 million weekly shoppers across the country, Lidl Ireland has smashed its initial fundraising target to deliver €3 million in support to fund vital charity services and reach thousands of young people across the country struggling with their mental health.
Launched in 2018 and delivering immediate and significant impact, the partnership between Lidl and Jigsaw quickly raised awareness and trust of the charity amongst the Irish public, growing from an awareness baseline of just 24% in 2018 to 61% in 2023. Trust in Jigsaw baseline also grew from 64% to 72% in the same period.
Throughout the lifetime of the partnership, Jigsaw also seen a significant increase in referrals to it's services across the country, rising by 49% between 2018 and 2023, with the number of appointments offered to young people in the same period jumping by over 59%.
The milestone fundraising achievement was marked at a celebratory event at the Radisson Blu, Athlone, and was attended by more than 135 representatives from Lidl and Jigsaw, as well as service users and partners that have benefitted from Jigsaw’s bespoke programmes and initiatives, delivered in partnership with Lidl Ireland.
Hosted by comedian, broadcaster and mental health advocate P.J. Gallagher, the event recapped on the success of the partnership and outlined key impacts delivered through the partnership across its six-year history.
Speaking at the event, J.P. Scally, CEO at Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland, said:
“After a fantastic six years, it’s with a heavy heart that we say a fond farewell to our charity partner, Jigsaw. Whilst the hugely successful partnership has come to an end, we are pleased to announce that, together with our customers, we have raised a staggering €3 million in funding to ensure this vital charity continues to deliver for young people in need across Ireland."
"This was all made possible through the sustained, committed efforts of Lidl employees in every store, warehouse and office across the country and the generosity and support of our valued customers and I’d like to thank each and every person who helped us reach this fundraising milestone."
"More than that, this partnership delivered immeasurable value beyond fundraising. From increasing awareness for the charity and driving service users to this vital resource to prompting change within our own organisation where we have built a culture of openness, acceptance and support to engage and empower our employees to all become mental health advocates for themselves and their families and loved ones."
As a family retailer, we are deeply committed to supporting the communities in which we serve. This partnership has been extraordinary, and I am delighted that, in working with Jigsaw to address key issues in youth mental health, we have delivered such profoundly impactful programmes which have empowered all Irish adults to support and encourage the young people in their lives to seek help when needed. I wish Jigsaw every success for the future.”
With a focus on programme delivery, Lidl’s flagship ‘One Good’ initiatives became synonymous with the charity partnership over the years, incorporating One Good School™, One Good Club™, One Good Adult ™ and One Good Community™.
First launching in 2021, One Good School™ directly supported more than 54,000 students across 254 secondary schools across the country through the rollout of an integrated programme that empowered schools to strengthen the wellbeing and mental health of all their pupils.
In 2020, Lidl and Jigsaw joined forces with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, Lidl’s sporting partner, to implement One Good Club™ – a five-step youth mental health awareness programme. Since then, more than 75 clubs have taken part in the programme across every county, engaging members in health and wellbeing activities.
Last year, the campaign was extended to launch its One Good Community™ programme. More than 80 stores in eight counties took part to empower their local communities through a series of mental health and wellbeing activities aligned with Jigsaw's powerful message of "5 a day for mental health”. The aim was to increase mental health awareness and enhance sense of community.
In addition, Lidl’s 179 stores throughout Ireland drove fundraising and awareness raising efforts at a local level, with a range of in-store activity designed to engage communities including spinathons, raffles, The Twisted Challenge to Superhero Saturdays, bespoke flower bouquets for World Mental Health Day and the retailer’s iconic festive fundraising activity, Trolley Dash.
Commenting on the partnership, Dr Joseph Duffy, CEO of Jigsaw said:
“Lidl’s support over the last six years has been game changing for our charity. It has been a privilege to partner with a company that bought into our vision from day one and continually demonstrated their commitment to working with us to change the conversation on youth mental health in Ireland. Together, we have changed how Ireland talks about, responds to and supports young people’s mental health."
"Our partner programmes with Lidl have been transformative in driving conversations around mental health up and down the country – parents, family members, children and young people and even Lidl employees have more knowledge and more confidence to reach out and say, ‘I’m not OK’."
"Through this partnership, we have been able to launch more initiatives and significantly expand our reach across Ireland, taking our services into untapped new areas such as LGFA clubs, schools and local neighbourhoods to deliver real and lasting impact."
"We complete our partnership with Lidl in the knowledge that together we have created a lasting legacy that we can all be proud of, and I thank every Lidl employee and customer for their support over the years.”
Slán go fóill.