Shoosmiths Leeds announces Leeds Mind as its 2021/2022 charity partner

The Shoosmiths Leeds office is pleased to welcome our new charity of the year, Leeds Mind, for 2021/22.

Did you know that upwards of 1 in 4 people experience mental health difficulties at some point in their lives? Leeds Mind now estimates that this figure is actually nearer 1 in 2 people. With the ever-increasing importance of the awareness and de-stigmatisation of mental health, the Leeds office has welcomed Leeds Mind as our charity partner for the year.

The aim of their work is to help people build on their strengths, overcome obstacles, and become more in control of their lives. Leeds Mind promotes positive mental health and provides help and support to those who need it. They offer many services, including counselling, group therapy, social support, employment support, and mental health training. 
As depression, anxiety, stress, and many other negative mental health experiences are currently so prevalent, the Leeds office has committed to fundraising as much as possible for Leeds Mind over the coming year. This will help enable Leeds Mind to continue to offer their much-needed resources within the local area and realise the firm’s drive to make mental wellbeing a particular focus both internally and within the community.

Richard Bellamy, Partner and CR Champion at Shoosmiths Leeds commented that “The decision to support Leeds Mind was the overwhelming choice of our Leeds office. At Shoosmiths, whilst we have a broad spread of offices across the UK, we have a really collective approach to our people and our clients - our people really do matter to us. The pandemic has challenged us all in different ways, and now more than ever, I think we all recognise the importance of a supportive and healthy environment. It’s thanks to organisations like Leeds Mind that we really can learn more, help to open up the discussion, and bring down the barriers associated with mental health. We have a wonderful and enthusiastic CR team in our Leeds office, and we’ll be working hard to support Leeds Mind over the next year, both by helping them raise funds, and giving our time to help them to deliver their exciting calendar of events for the forthcoming year.”

A member of our employment team, who also sits on the Board of Trustees for Leeds Mind has indicated that he “is absolutely delighted that Shoosmiths Leeds office have chosen Leeds Mind as its charity partner of the year”. Although he had no influence on the decision to either nominate or appoint the charity, he went on to say “I appreciate that all charities do fantastic work, but I know just how invaluable the work is that this charity does for the people of Leeds, and I hope that our office can raise lots of money to allow Leeds Mind to continue delivering its exceptional services to pursue the goal of achieving better mental health for all”.

Charli Brunning, the Business Development Officer at Leeds Mind, added that “Corporate support – from businesses both large and small – is absolutely critical for us to be able to deliver our work towards better mental health in our city and beyond. Especially through the pandemic; demand has gone up, but our fundraising income has been hit with event cancellations and the necessary restrictions posed against Covid-19. Shoosmiths has an incredible track record of charitable work, and they’re also doing excellent work to promote mental health awareness and mental health literacy within their owns teams. We’re looking forward to seeing what the coming year of working together will hold!”