We LOVE The Body Shop! And luckily for us, they seem to love us too.
MindOut has worked with TBS since 2019 when we were chosen as one of their charities of the year. Since then they have continued to impress us with their commitment to LGBTQ mental health and they are a shining example of what a charity-corporate relationship should look like.
TBA colleagues voted MindOut as their charity of the year as they wanted to promote our services and raise funds for us. And fundraise they did, to the sum of £15,000! So many events contributed to this including product sales, summer and Christmas fairs, quizzes, cake sales and raffles.
Erica Rose, Co-Chair of the TBS Together Network said:
“Our relationship with MindOut has enabled authentic and relevant learning, sharing and education for us as a LGBTQ+ employee network and for many of our colleagues across the business, which has included some specific training sessions. Sharing details of the amazing work completed in support of LGBTQ+ Mental Health by MindOut has also raised awareness of the services available to anyone from the LGBTQ+ community here at The Body Shop requiring support, whether they are based in our offices, distribution centre and stores.
Through supporting and working with MindOut, we are authentically supporting all of our LGBTQ+ colleagues and customers! We are partnering with experts who provide a much needed support service; our relationship has been a massively positive one for all concerned and we feel the appreciation works both ways and is genuine!”
As if this wasn’t enough, for Pride 2021 they made a large donation from the UK head office and they put information about our online support service in their stores worldwide. We contributed to their Being A Better Ally campaign as well as becoming a Love Your Body Card partner. This means that since June, loyal customers have donated their £5 rewards to us instead of spending it on products, which is utterly heart warming.
To top it all off, Sara Townley from the Littlehampton office ran the Brighton Marathon for us this year and has signed up again for 2022!
The Body Shop aren’t just about fundraising though. They are political. They push much-needed boundaries. They truly care.
Check out their Self Love Index, it’s worth a read. The research found that LGBTQ people experience much lower self-esteem than their heterosexual and cisgendered peers. This comes as no surprise, but when a big business makes LGBTQ mental health a priority on their agenda and also puts their profit where their mouth is, this can only be a good thing.
We send our huge thanks to everyone at The Body Shop who supports MindOut and our services. Other corporates, pay attention!