Today the AJ Bell Futures Foundation welcomes its third principal charity partner, Stop.Breathe.Think – a game changing mental health service for young people in the UK.
Stop.Breathe.Think provides young people aged 8-21 with free access to 1-2-1 virtual counselling sessions, avoiding wait times to provide vital support to those who need it right now.
Since its launch in 2021, Stop.Breathe.Think has supported over 3,000 young people with the delivery of over 17,000 counselling sessions, working alongside 127 youth organisations nationally.
The AJ Bell Futures Foundation will make an annual donation of £100,000 to Stop.Breathe.Think to fully fund 400 young people through the fast-tracked counselling service, and support with the service’s growth in the North West and inner city London.
Through the partnership, Stop.Breathe.Think will also deliver mental health workshops for AJ Bell employees focusing on topics such as resiliency.
Peter Birch, Foundation trustee, comments:
“The AJ Bell Futures Foundation has proved to be a huge force for good in its first year since launch and it’s been a privilege to see this impact first-hand.
“Welcoming Stop.Breathe.Think to our incredible line up of partners is an exciting development, and hopefully means we can make a real difference to the mental health and wellbeing of local young people.
“Today’s young people are our leaders of the future, and we strongly believe that we have a responsibility to help them realise their potential by funding vital mental health support to those who need it so they can better navigate the obstacles they may face in life.”
Dan Charlish, founder of Stop.Breathe.Think, said:
“This new partnership with the AJ Bell Futures Foundation will give a huge boost to the work of Stop.Breathe.Think, as we seek to widen access to counselling and mental health support to the young people who need it the most. Together we can have a significant and life changing impact, and we look forward to supporting hundreds of young people in the North West and in London through this positive partnership.”
Any young people in Manchester and the North West who would like support can access free counselling by simply visiting www.stopbreathethink.org.uk/letstalkNW or by scanning the QR code on the poster below.
About AJ Bell Futures Foundation:
The AJ Bell Futures Foundation, now a UK registered charity (no. 1204667), was established in 2023 by Manchester-based investment platform, AJ Bell.
AJ Bell pledges to contribute 0.5% of its profit before tax to the Foundation each year to support people who have faced significant life challenges by providing them with opportunities to build a more positive future through initiatives focused on self-advancement.
The AJ Bell Futures Foundation will continue to work with Smart Works and IntoUniversity to build upon the partnerships’ impact, with ambitious targets for the year ahead. For Smart Works, the partnership will provide a pillar to deliver their coaching and clothing service to over 8,000 women in the UK and for IntoUniversity, the donation will fully-fund 900 young people to undertake their national Future Pathways Programme.
The Foundation will also continue to ringfence 10% of its annual donation to support local charities and causes nominated directly by AJ Bell employees.
For more information on the Foundation’s impact to date, watch the video below.