Supporting Manchester Mind through charity partnership…

This month we caught up with our inspired partner, 3 Hardman Square, to explore what our relationship means to them and the benefit of engaging with our local mental health charity…

Who are 3 Hardman Square?
3 Hardman Square is a 200,000 square-foot multi-tenant office building situated in Spinningfields, right in the heart of the bustling city centre. Split across eight floors, the building is home to 10 tenant organisations, who mostly work within the financial and legal sectors.

What motivated you to choose Manchester Mind as your ‘charity of the year’?
We chose to support Manchester Mind as well felt it was so important to raise awareness about mental health issues, particularly in the corporate environment. Manchester Mind felt like a perfect choice to achieve this goal as they are local to us, offering a fantastic opportunity to give back to the community and support those struggling with poor mental health in Manchester.  We host a year-round calendar of pop up events, fitness and wellbeing and an allotment that requires volunteers all year-round, and the partnership has complimented this focus.

Can you tell us about some of the inspiring activities you’ve undertaken to raise funds?
We have undertaken a variety of activities throughout the year to raise funds and awareness, such as a Valentine’s Day flower sale, seasonal competitions and, most notably, an all-day long fitness event during Mental Health Awareness Week. Our team and our tenants rode bikes and rowing machines in our reception for over 9 hours to raise donations and awareness for the benefits of exercise for mental health. The charity team also came along to help clock up the mileage! In addition, we donate monies from our onsite facilities (such as the car park) and one of our generous tenants, Yoga Republic, also pledged 10% of all class income to the charity.

How has the relationship made a difference to workplace wellbeing?
The relationship has really helped break the stigma of discussing mental health in the workplace within our core team and amongst tenant businesses. Increased awareness and discussions help people to feel less alone in their struggles and that is really important to us. The charity also provide a choice of free employer wellbeing sessions as part of the partnership year, as well as 20% discount on their wider employer training offer.

What is the most important thing you’ve learnt so far during the partnership?
Given the opportunity, we’ve seen how well people respond to being open about mental health issues. Over the past year, hearing people share and give advice to others has been utterly amazing and has helped us learn the benefits of being open, in turn breaking the stigma around mental health in the workplace.

Any final thoughts?
Partnering with Manchester Mind has been a very fulfilling experience and has significantly developed our workplace wellness.  It is great to see the work they do through quarterly newsletters and social media posts, and we’ve been honoured to be able to provide a contribution to their vital services this year.

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If you’re interested to learn more about our charity partnerships or you can support us through your business we’d love to hear from you. Please contact Joanna Huddart: [email protected]