Iceland has hailed a milestone in its ‘first of its kind’ charity partnership with suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
The Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation has raised more than £1.4m for CALM during the two-year collaboration, through fundraising, awareness campaigns in and out of store, and a £300,000 donation directly to the charity.
It has helped to fund the rollout of CALM’s support helpline as well as the creation of a new free ‘CARE Kit’ mental health first-aid course.
One in four people experience suicidal thoughts during their lifetime, according to the NHS Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/2024.
Iceland has also sought to directly “break the stigma” around talking about mental health by raising awareness in stores. In February 2024 it rolled out new PoS and messages to stores, signposting shoppers to the charity’s mental health support services, as part of its #BreaktheIce campaign.
Breaking stigma through awareness campaigns
The supermarket also helped to fund CALM’s ‘Missed Birthdays’ campaign, which highlighted the impact of youth suicide. It included a special balloon installation at its Westfield store in London, as well as the creation of Evelyn, a short film highlighting the story of Evelyn Gibson who took her own life aged 15.
“Suicide is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time, and at IFCF we are determined to play our part in changing that,” said Tarsem Dhaliwal, Iceland Foods CEO and trustee of Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation.
“Our partnership with CALM is about more than raising money – it’s about raising awareness, breaking down stigma, and giving people the confidence to have crucial discussions with their families and friends.”
In further support, 30 Iceland colleagues are set to participate in the Great North Run in Newcastle on 7 September, raising further funds ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation for raising an extraordinary amount in support of CALM,” said CALM CEO Simon Gunning.
“Talking about suicide is never easy, but they’ve played a pivotal part in tackling the stigma we work so hard to address – a powerful, public stand seen by millions of their customers. That’s true courage.
“From colleague and customer fundraising to awareness campaigns and supplier events, they’ve backed our mission every step of the way. They did more than start a conversation – they potentially sparked over five million life-saving ones.
“Their support made our Missed Birthdays campaign a reality, and as the founding partner of the CALM CARE Kit, they’ve helped hundreds of thousands of people get the tools needed to start even more conversations. This isn’t just generous – it’s special and, above all, life-saving.”
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