London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has passed a milestone fundraising target for charity partner Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) with over £230,000 now raised for the mental health charity since October 2018.
LNER customers and staff united to raise £200,000 for CALM through a combination of fundraising events, along with the Delay Repay Donation scheme pioneered by LNER in 2018. Since launching, more than £138,000 has been donated by the 3,234 customers who have opted to gift their Delay Repay compensation to the charity.
Following the requirement of face coverings to be worn on public transport due to the Coronavirus pandemic, LNER launched a series of regionally inspired face coverings, with proceeds from sales going to CALM.
To mark World Mental Health Day 2020, LNER is now launching the latest in the series of regionally inspired face masks, with a design featuring the state of the art Azuma train.
Following a social media poll allowing customers to vote on their preferred design, the new mask features the iconic train in the LNER vibrant colours of the livery.
It is expected this design will be the most popular yet and will raise even greater funds for CALM from sales of the Azuma mask. To date, almost £2,500 has been raised for the charity from sales of the masks.
LNER Director of Communications, Kate McFerran, said: “We know how passionate our communities are about our trains and our destinations along the LNER route. We are sure that the new Azuma design will be hugely popular with our customers and colleagues who travel on our route. Whilst we all adjust to these new ways of going about our daily lives, including using our services, we continue to ensure that customers can travel safely and in style.
We’re immensely proud of how our colleagues and customers have rallied together to show support for CALM since the launch of the partnership and would like to thank everyone who has donated their time or money to supporting the cause.”
In addition to the new design, customers can still also select a uniquely-designed Scottish thistle, Tyne Bridge, Yorkshire Rose or London Eye face mask, with proceeds going to the official LNER charity partner, CALM. The masks have been locally produced and distributed as LNER continues to support communities and businesses on the East Coast. The exclusive collection is available online at personalisedfacemask.com/lner
Ben Hawley, Marketing and Communications Director at the Campaign Against Living Miserably said, “LNER have been staunch supporters of our life-saving work over the years, and we remain extremely grateful for their continued support. In these uncertain times people are needing CALM and our helpline services more than ever.”
The launch of the LNER face mask designs is just one of a series of measures by LNER to support CALM. In addition to the funds raised by the face mask sales, 120 LNER colleagues are trained as CALM warriors to support those struggling with their mental health. An additional £80,000 has been raised by LNER colleague fundraising and LNER initiatives, taking the total raised to £232,913 to date.
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