M&S in Northern Ireland launches young designer competition with YoungMinds to support young peoples mental health

Hello Yellow marks World Mental Health Day on October 10.

Every year for Hello Yellow, YoungMinds calls on teachers, pupils, parents and colleagues to wear yellow on the day, to show young people that they are not alone with their mental health.

Spearheaded by M&S x YoungMinds Partnership Ambassador and mum Rochelle Humes, the competition invites young people to design a sweatshirt or hoodie that will be sold in M&S stores across the UK and online. All profits will be donated to YoungMinds to help more young people feel supported with their mental health.

M&S and YoungMinds are looking for inspiring designs to feature on two special pieces in the 2025 YoungMinds Hello Yellow kidswear collection. There are two age categories for the competition – 5-11 and 12-16 year olds – and one winner will be chosen from each age category.

The winners, along with their guardian, will get exclusive behind the scenes access to see their ideas become a reality, with their designs included in the M&S x YoungMinds Hello Yellow range 2025 available at M&S this autumn.

They will be invited to visit the M&S support centre in London to see their design turned into the artwork, visit the supplier factory in the Midlands to see the products being printed, and be part of the launch in September.

The winner will also receive enough sweatshirts or hoodies featuring the winning design for everyone in their class to wear on Hello Yellow.

M&S has raised over £3 million since the launch of its partnership with YoungMinds. The retailer has seen incredible support from colleagues and customers who have joined the brand’s coalition of the hopeful to raise funds and support young people's mental health.

Launched in October 2023, the partnership aims to raise £5 million over three years. This will enable YoungMinds to double its reach to support seven million young people and the adults in their lives through easy to access online resources and its dedicated Parents Helpline.

Since the partnership launched, YoungMinds has been able to reach even more young people and the adults around them. Already these funds have contributed to YoungMinds supporting over 3.2m young people to manage their mental health through easy-to-access information and advice. The funds have also helped support over 1.8m adults through the YoungMinds Parent Helpline, training and online information.

More young people than ever are struggling with their mental health, with five pupils in every classroom likely to have a mental health condition. Yet research commissioned by M&S and YoungMinds found that despite struggling with their mental health, 65 per cent of young people had not asked for any kind of formal support with 33 per cent of those saying they felt too embarrassed to ask for help.

Through their charity partnership, M&S and YoungMinds are working together to change this by raising awareness and showing young people that it’s okay to reach out for help when they are struggling.

Ryan Lemon, Regional Manager for M&S in Northern Ireland, said: “With the incredible support of our colleagues and customers, we’re proud to have raised over £3 million since we launched the partnership to support young people’s mental health.

“Together with YoungMinds, we’re building a coalition of the hopeful and showing young people they’re never alone and there is support available when they need it most.

“We want to see as many young people as possible across Northern Ireland get involved in our young designer competition and for everyone to think about how they can support a friend or young person who might be struggling. It’s crucial that we get everyone thinking about how they can support the young people in their lives because, together, we’ve got this.”

Laura Bunt, Chief Executive of YoungMinds, said: “We are so grateful to all the incredible support we have received from the inspiring M&S colleagues and customers.

“Young people are struggling with their mental health more than ever before, and through our work together we can show them that they are not alone. We are so excited to see the designs from this competition and we hope that as many young people as possible get creative and get involved. We want Hello Yellow this year to be our biggest yet and we are thankful to all of you that want to be part of it.”

Rochelle Humes, M&S x YoungMinds partnership ambassador, said: “As M&S and YoungMinds Partnership Ambassador I’m so excited about this Young Designer of the Year competition – it’s a perfect reminder that one chat can change everything.

“I love showing a friend I’m thinking about them, and I often find myself looking at old messages from friends even though I've read them before because it makes me feel good, loved and happy.

“So, why not encourage a young designer you know to take part? Their creativity could make a real difference, being seen by millions of people across the UK as well as raising vital funds for YoungMinds. Good luck everyone, with your help we can get more young people that they’re not alone with their mental health.”

Launching the competition are schoolchildren Harry, seven, and Esme Towers, nine, alongside Ryan Lemon, Regional Manager for M&S in Northern Ireland.