Key charitable role for business

Approximately 220,000 people are living with cancer in Scotland. It is a disease that does not discriminate and can affect anyone, anywhere and at any time. It’s something that, sadly, many of us will experience – whether it be ourselves or a family member – at some point in our lives.

With many of my own colleagues having been affected by cancer, Macmillan Cancer Support is a cause very close to our hearts, and hosting a World’s Biggest Coffee Morning every September is an important event in our calendar.

Since 2010, M&S customers and colleagues have helped raise £10 million for people living with cancer. This collective effort helps to fund invaluable Macmillan professional roles, such as nurses, occupational therapists and dietitians that make a difference in our hospitals and in our communities.

As one of the UK’S biggest retailers with hundreds of stores, M&S is in a privileged position to lend its support to the communities that we serve – we have a platform to raise awareness, cafés to host Coffee Morning events and the ability to raise thousands of pounds through the sale of Macmillan-branded products.

But the partnership goes much deeper than coffee and cake. My M&S colleagues get stuck into the fundraising throughout September, to ensure the event is a great success.

We strongly believe that businesses have a key role to play in supporting their local communities and helping to tackle the wider issues facing society today – whether that’s unemployment, well-being or loneliness.

And with charities increasingly facing fundraising challenges, the need for business to step up and support has never been more pressing.

Whether you can help with donations, or simply request a fundraising pack and encourage your employees to host their own Coffee Morning, the collective impact can be significant.

But it doesn’t always have to come down to money. Consider how your skills and connections as a business could provide support – perhaps raising awareness, gifting equipment or time, or donating space for charitable use. This year, M&S committed to dedicating one million hours of staff volunteering time.

Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is a great way to bring communities together – and raise vital funds for the charity. We’d love as many of our customers as possible to join us in M&S cafés across Scotland on 29 September, as we raise a mug to help support people living with cancer. ● Macmillan Cancer Support’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is taking place this Friday. To get involved, visit www.macmillan.org.uk/ coffee and join the conversation on social media using #coffeemorning ● David Bates is M&S head of region Scotland central and west