New M&S fundraising partnership to benefit vital Bucks and Herts hospice care charity

By joining the M&S Food family, this special partnership could make a lasting difference to the UK’s most vulnerable and seriously ill children by raising money for the 54 children’s hospices including Rennie Grove.

M&S Food has already set an impressive challenge – to raise £1m for Together for Short Lives this year to help children’s hospices like Rennie Grove continue to do their sterling work for seriously ill children and families.

Together for Short Lives’ ambition is for every seriously ill child and their family to be able to make the most of every moment together, whether that’s for years, months or just days. M&S Food shares this aim and - at its heart - the partnership is all about ‘protecting the magic of family time’ – even though that time is often, tragically, cut short for the families we’re here for.

M&S Food and Together for Short Lives are celebrating their partnership launch in Children’s Hospice Week (22-28 June 2020) – a UK-wide campaign to raise awareness and vital funds for children’s hospices across the UK. Children’s Hospice Week is especially poignant this year, with hospices going above and beyond to both take the pressure off the NHS during the Coronavirus pandemic, as well as delivering urgent care to the UK’s most vulnerable and seriously ill children.

Rennie Grove’s fundraising has been hit-hard by the pandemic, and the families they care for need our support more than ever. Social isolation has taken its toll and families are exhausted after months of providing 24/7 care for their child at home. M&S Food’s generosity could not come at a better time. It means so much that M&S Food are recognising the incredible work of the hospice heroes and giving them their backing.

Rennie Grove will be celebrating the difference it will make to children and families. Together for Short Lives’ Patron, Simon Cowell, is right behind the partnership too, working closely with M&S Food and the charity, a cause that is very close to his heart.

Stuart Machin, CEO M&S Food: “I am incredibly proud to be joining forces with Together for Short Lives and welcoming them on board on as our new charity partner for M&S Food. The work that they do to support families across the UK is truly inspirational, and I am delighted that we will be playing a role in their vital work to help protect the lifeline care that children’s hospices provide – particularly at this time with so many families affected by the current pandemic.”

“At M&S Food we are a passionate team with a big heart and we are all excited about our new partnership. We have some big plans afoot for all our colleagues and customers to get involved in raising our target of £1 million for the charity. From next month, Together for Short Lives will be one of the charities available to support via our SPARKS card and we’re looking forward to introducing lots more initiatives during the year.”

Andy Fletcher, CEO for Together for Short Lives, said: “Thank you M&S Food, Together for Short Lives is so excited to be partnering with you – we have so much in common between our ideals for family life – it feels like the perfect fit. We are blown away by your generosity and commitment to seriously ill children and families and the children’s hospices they rely on. We have already had the privilege of working with M&S Food over the last year, and have experienced first-hand their warmth, energy and determination to do all they can to protect the magic of family life – which is so precious when time is short.

“Lockdown has been so tough for the children and families we support, and many will carry on shielding long after social distancing ends. So, they desperately need the support of their local children’s hospice. M&S Food’s generosity and ambition to raise a huge £1M has the power to make a lasting difference to hospices struggling to recover from the impact of Coronavirus. The M&S Food family will play a very important role in helping to protect the lifeline care that children’s hospices provide for vulnerable families today, tomorrow and long into the future”.

Tracey Hancock, Director of Fundraising at Rennie Grove said: “We’d like join Together for Short Lives in thanking M&S Food for entering into this partnership which will make such a big difference to the children we care for and their families. We look forward to hearing more about the plans and exciting initiatives for the year ahead. This type of support has never been more needed and we are very grateful to everyone at M&S Food.”