In our weekly good news round-up, we feature three positive stories from across the week that showcase remarkable innovation, breakthroughs, and progress within the realms of healthcare, sustainability, equity and inclusion, workplace wellbeing, social impact and more.

Here are our favourite positive stories of the week, 7 to 13 October, 2024.

 

M&S donates 100 ‘Buddy Benches’ to schools in mental health initiative

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is donating 100 ‘buddy benches’ to schools across the UK to support pupils struggling with their mental health. The initiative, which is part of the company’s ongoing partnership with mental health charity Young Minds, coincides with the charity’s Hello Yellow campaign, which raises awareness for mental health issues in schools. Pupils involved in the campaign have the chance to win one of the benches, made from 95kg of recycled plastic collected from M&S stores.

Marks & Spencer are supporting Young Minds by encouraging schools across the UK to sign up to the charity’s Hello Yellow campaign and make it easier for children to talk.

The buddy benches provide a designated spot for students to signal when they need friendship and support. As part of the effort, M&S also launched a yellow kidswear collection, donating all profits to Young Minds. Through their three-year partnership, which began last year, M&S has already raised £2 million for the charity.

Learn more about the initiative here.

Innovative tech and partnerships deliver vision care to underserved communities

The OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation’s Eye Rafiki programme is making remarkable strides in bringing essential vision care to underserved communities. Through innovative technology and strategic partnerships, the programme has created over 30,000 access points, offering much-needed eye care in rural and hard-to-reach areas of Kenya and India.

One of the key innovations is the use of remote optometry, employing digital technology to extend the programme’s reach even further — a crucial step in addressing the global issue of uncorrected poor vision, which affects billions of people and significantly impacts their quality of life.

Watch OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation’s film, featured in our new programme, Global Action for Eye Health.

UK economy returns to growth for the first time since May

The UK economy has returned to growth for the first time since May, offering a positive signal after several months of stagnation. According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the economy expanded in August, driven largely by growth in the service and production sectors. The production sector, including manufacturing, saw a strong bounce back, with output rising by 0.5%, reversing a decline of 0.7% in July.

However, David Bharier, head of research at the British Chambers of Commerce, warns the upcoming budget will be critical, and that businesses remain concerned that austerity measures do not impact investment and growth.

EXPLORE OUR NEW PROGRAMME: The Future of Investing