With less than a month to go until the big day, M&S has unveiled its Christmas Clothing & Home TV Ad campaign for 2022, with the local community driving the narrative.

A true celebration of togetherness and community, the 2022 campaign joyfully brings-to-life how a gift given from M&S this Christmas will keep on giving, with the retailer donating £25k to 25 community groups and good causes across Northern Ireland through Neighbourly – a unique giving platform M&S has worked with.

Neighbourly and M&S have worked together to identify the 25 amazing community groups throughout Northern Ireland who will receive funding.

One of the groups to directly benefit from the M&S donation is the Belfast-based Whiterock Children’s Centre. The centre was established in 1988 to support families and children in an area of significant depravation and conflict and, almost 35 years later, continues to do so against the backdrop of both a cost-of-living and refugee crisis.

Deirdre Walsh, Director at Whiterock Children’s Centre, said: “We are very much dependent on donations from a financial perspective as well as in the form of household products and materials, all of which support our continued commitment to providing childcare, family learning and family support within the Whiterock area.

“We are incredibly grateful to Marks and Spencer for recognising the need for our facility and enabling us to continue to provide our service users with support on the purchase of non-essentials including toys or clothing this Christmas.”

Nicola Finlay, Regional Manager for M&S in Northern Ireland, said: “Although a time of celebration, Christmas can also bring significant financial pressure. Our donation to the 25 charities will hopefully help to alleviate that stress for some families and individuals, allowing the nominated charities to continue the exceptional work they are doing throughout their communities.”

Steve Butterworth, Neighbourly CEO, said: “M&S’s Christmas campaign is a brilliant celebration of kindness and a timely reminder of the importance of community at a time when support at a local level is needed more than ever.

“Findings from our recent community survey found that 83% of local groups are already experiencing a rise in demand on their services yet 69% reported they’ve found it harder to find funds in the last three months. We’re delighted to have partnered with M&S on the distribution of this £25K fund which will make a huge difference to groups in our network over the winter period. This campaign builds on a long-standing community strategy that has seen M&S support over 6,000 good causes in the Neighbourly network and donate nearly 50 million meals worth of surplus food.”

The 25 groups receiving a £1000 donation from the M&S Christmas Campaign

Whiterock Children’s Centre
LifehubNI
Children’s Heartbeat Trust
Positive Futures
Resurgam Trust
Old Warren Primary School Nursery Unit
Lisburn and Castlereagh Borough Council Community Trust
The Storehouse (Banbridge Community Foodbank & The Bridge Pantry)
Southern Age Well Network
The Cithrah Foundation
Cause NI
Journey Community Church, Antrim
Women’s Aid (Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey)
Shepherd’s View Young Parents Project
Ledley Hall Boys and Girls Club Trust Ltd
Home-Start Causeway
Vineyard Compassion
Craigavon Area Foodbank
Chrysalis Women’s Centre
Horn of Africa People’s Aid Northern Ireland
PVN Belfast – Bradbury Hub Foodbank
Fermanagh Rural Community Initiative
Home-Start Omagh District
Causeway & Mid-Ulster Women’s Aid

The M&S Family Matters Index is a continuing journey to understand what really matters to families in the UK, today and in the years to come.
‘Gifts that Give’ builds on M&S’ 7-year partnership with Neighbourly, which has supported over 2,000 grassroot groups with surplus food, as part of the retailer’s commitment to tackle food waste. To date nearly 50 million meals have been donated through the scheme.
Neighbourly is an award-winning giving platform that matches businesses with local good causes. The platform takes the uncertainty out of doing good by connecting businesses who want to give time, money or surplus to the communities that need it most. Its network of thousands of vetted local causes is mapped against impact themes and development goals so that businesses can easily connect their resources and measure the positive impact they are having on their business, employees, communities and the planet.