Bath-based Off The Record has received a donation of £500 from the TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation thanks to an application to their Community Fund to support the charity.
Off The Record Bath and North East Somerset provides a range of free services including counselling, listening support, youth participation, advocacy and specialist groups, support for care leavers and a LGBT+ focused youth group.
The Community Fund, which is provided by The TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation, invites employees and associates working for either retailer to apply for a grant on behalf of a local charity that is important to them.
The grant for Off The Record was applied for by Lucy Long, an associate from TK Maxx Bath.
Lucy said: “I am delighted to be able to support a local charity that is so close to my heart. Mental health is at the forefront of peoples minds at the moment, now more than ever.
“I myself have dealt with my own mental illness and been on my own journey. So have other close family members, especially more recently in the pandemic.
“It took a lot for me to get myself well enough to even manage day to day life as a young adult. I was fortunate enough to have a job that supported me fully and the ability to seek private help.
“This isn’t the case for the majority. Not enough funding is given to mental health and its really hard to access the support you may need as a young person to help you presently and help prevent future mental health problems.”
The funds will help continue the work the charity does in Bath and the surrounding areas.
The donation was accepted on behalf of the charity by Martha Robbins, Off The Record’s Fundraising Officer.
She said: “On behalf of everyone here at Off The Record Bath and NES, I want to thank everyone at The TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation for the generous donation, which will be invaluable to the local area and the lives of many”.
Since The Community Fund started in 2015, over £1.5 million has been donated from The TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation to various local charities across Europe.
