M&S Sparks Something Good In Newcastle With Week-Long Initiative To Support Local Charities
Today (Monday 18th July) marks the first day of Spark Something Good, a week-long M&S charity initiative in Newcastle which will see hundreds of M&S employees and members of the public volunteer to positively impact 24 local community projects.
Activity will get underway at M&S on Northumberland St this morning as the store teams up with the Royal Voluntary Service, a charity that aims to enrich the lives of older people and their families across Britain, to host a fun 1940s themed tea party. The Blitz Sisters will entertain partygoers by performing songs from the likes of Vera Lynn, The Andrews Sisters and Peggy Lee.
Spark Something Good is an M&S initiative that aims to inspire and motivate both M&S employees and its customers to take action for social good by donating time to their local communities to help improve lives.
The 1940s-style tea party in partnership with the Royal Voluntary Service is just one of 24 projects that M&S will support in Newcastle over the next seven days. Organisations also collaborating with M&S to host a Spark Something Good event include the Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter, The People’s Kitchen, Linskill Community Centre and Ridgeway Primary Academy in South Shields.
To round off the week’s community volunteering projects, a beach clean event in association the Marine Conservation Society will take place at Sandhaven in South Shields on Sunday 24th July.
Nikki McKidd, Store Manager at Marks & Spencer Newcastle, said: “We are all very excited for Spark Something Good to get underway. M&S staff have been working really closely with all 24 projects to help raise awareness and to encourage volunteers to sign-up.
“There are some incredibly worthy organisations taking part so we’re encouraging as many people as possible to get stuck in and to lend a hand. We know we can achieve something great when we work together and the difference it makes can be profound.
“The tea party taking place today in partnership with RVS is just one example of how M&S employees and volunteers can support older people in our local community to stay active and independent. By providing a memorable event like the one we’re having today, they can enjoy meeting up with old friends and hopefully make some new ones too.”
There is still time to register to take part. To find out more and sign-up, simply visit the dedicated page at www.neighbourly.com/mandsvolunteer, developed by Neighbourly, the social network for social good.
Newcastle is the first city in the North East to host an M&S Spark Something Good week. Spark Something Good will take place across 24 cities in the UK and Ireland over the course of 24 months and will see 24 projects benefit in each location.
Spark Something Good is part of Plan A, M&S’s ground-breaking eco and ethical programme. It was developed following extensive research and dialogue which revealed that getting involved in community projects enhanced people’s lives. M&S aims to spark Bristol residents into action by showing just what can be achieved when people come together united by a common goal.
Volunteers can also sign up for Spark Something Good Newcastle, by calling 0117 915 1279.
