We’ve supported over 750,000 young people

Thanks to Co-op colleagues, members, suppliers and customers we’ve raised an amazing £6m for our charity partner, Barnardo’s and supported over 750,000 young people across the UK! 

Supporting young people across the UK 

Supporting young people is a big part of our vision of ‘Co-operating to build more value for our member owners every day’ and we’re aiming to raise £7m to support positive futures for 1 million young people.  

Because of you, young people have so far been supported through our partnership via online support that reaches all communities. And we’re delivering in depth support in the communities that need it most – with 84% of service users saying they feel more positive about their future. 

Research has shown over 40% of young people have struggled with their mental wellbeing*. One of our partnership services, Takeaway Tuesday’s, in Plymouth has especially supported Lilli (16) when several of her family members passed away in less than a year.  

“With everything that we’d gone through, my Mum was coping with her grief as well. On Tuesdays, cooking dinner became one less thing for her to worry about, because it was something that I could do at Takeaway Tuesdays. It made me feel really good to be able to help out like that. It might not sound like much, but it made a massive difference.  

At first, I felt guilty for carrying on going out, seeing friends, even laughing or making jokes. But everyone at Takeaway Tuesdays helped me see that it’s not selfish. My Dad, Nan, Grandad – they wouldn’t want me to hold myself back or stop doing the things I love doing.” 

In August, Lilli passed her GCSE’S and praised our partnership service for providing a “safe place” that helped make her exam success possible. “I used to think I wanted to be a lawyer when I grew up. But now I think I’d like to help young people – just like people at the Takeaway Tuesdays service have helped me.” 

Our partnership is working with young people to use social media to produce safe, reliable and shareable online support that can be accessed by any community, as that’s where young people told us that’s where they go for advice. Louise, who is one of our Young Content Creators who produces online content to help other young people said: 

 “I like to create positive content – I want to leave people feeling a bit more motivated than they did before they start watching. I want people to feel encouraged and like they can do whatever they want to do. There can be some scary stuff on social media, but we help cut through that by creating helpful and informative content – using the internet for good, not bad! We can use it to educate and raise awareness of different topics, whilst also helping people feel that they’re not alone. The support this partnership provides both online and in person really does help change lives. Thank you for raising the funds and supporting young people across the UK.” 

We’re supporting young people online through advice and information on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Platforms that young people use in the same way older generations use Google to search for advice.  

You can find the Barnardo’s accounts on TikTok: @barnardosuk and on Instagram: barnardos_uk.  

Help us raise £7m

We’re £1m away from our £7m target, you can help us by donating at till instore or donating online here. Thanks to our suppliers for showing support for our partnership too. Six brands are taking over a Co-op freezer and making a £100,000 donation**. So, pop instore or shop online, and treat yourselves to one of the products knowing your purchase is supporting positive futures for young people. 

To find out more about our partnership visit coop.co.uk/SupportYoungPeople. 

*Co-op and Barnardo’s Youth Opportunity Research, March 2025 

**During February Birdseye, Froneri Rowntrees and Walls are donating £25k each and Crosta Mollica and Youngs are donating £10k each to Barnardo’s to support young people across the UK as part of the partnership between Co-op and Barnardo’s. Häagen-Dazs are donating 25p from each pack sold between 01/02/2026 – 06/10/2026 (min donation £60k, max £90k between their Vanilla Caramel Brownie pints 460ml and Chunky Salted Caramel sticks 80ml) to help Co-op & Barnardo’s bring communities together to support young people. Find out more at coop.co.uk/SupportYoungPeople. Barnardo’s is a registered charity, nos. 216250 & SC037605.