Teams from 96 SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVO and ViVOXTRA stores along with employees from Henderson Group’s Mallusk hub, have taken part in the Miles for Mental Health Challenge, completing 16,478.2 miles, making a total donation of £22,730 to Action Mental Health.

The challenge took place earlier this year, with participants running, walking, swimming or cycling to rack up miles in aid of the local charity.

Action Mental Health has grown from humble beginnings in Downpatrick in 1963. The charity promotes the mental health and well-being of people in Northern Ireland and helps break the stigma of mental illness in the community.

Henderson Retail’s store employees, along with their Mallusk based colleagues, have taken part in this annual challenge for the past three years, raising a total of over £50,000 and covering 27,727 miles.

The top number of miles covered for 2024 was achieved by David Wedt from SPAR Cherryvalley who covered 1,992.1 miles alone and Gillian Kelly from Henderson Technology was the top fundraiser who raised £465.

A number of stores also showed their support with instore fundraisers including bucket collections and turning their store purple, Action Mental Health’s signature colour.

Jonathan Smyth from Action Mental Health commented, “We want to say a huge thank you to all staff who got involved and raised an amazing amount of money for our charity. 1 in 5 adults in Northern Ireland will be affected by mental ill-health and this donation will help us continue to support people who need our services, changing the lives of many people across the country.”

Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at Henderson Group commented, “I want to thank all store employees and their Mallusk based colleagues who took part in the Miles for Mental Health Challenge, as well as our generous shoppers who kindly donated. Action Mental Health is a deserving charity which does such important work, helping to break stigmas and supporting people across Northern Ireland when they need it most.

“It’s important to keep the conversation going about mental health. Getting our stores and shoppers involved not only helps raise awareness of the charity and the help that is out there for people across the country, but also helps bring people together, encouraging them to get active and tackle the challenge together. The miles covered and money raised is a great achievement for all involved.

“Our partnership for the past three years with Action Mental Health has been so important to raise awareness of the charity’s valuable services. We are looking forward to continuing support for the charity throughout the year as well as providing health and wellbeing support for our colleagues.”

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