MINI Celebrates an Act of Big Love with Grow Mental Health this Valentine's Day

MINI Ireland has partnered with Grow Mental Health to spread messages of love and gratitude this Valentine’s Day. Today Grow Mental Health will deliver hundreds of ‘Thank You’ roses to some amazing volunteers, facilitators and advocates who carelessly give their time, energy and lived experience knowledge to people who are suffering with mental health challenges and will be done with the support of MINI Ireland.

Grow Mental Health is one of Ireland’s longest standing Mental Health charities, supporting over 1,000 people in Irelandweekly. The charity, which was set up in 1969, has recorded a 400% year on year increase in demand for support. Delivering a national network of peer-to-peer support groups in local communities, through a 12-Step Recovery and Growth program, the charity aims to ensure that anyone struggling with mental health challenges does not have to navigate those challenges alone. Instead, they can join a local support group and experience hope and recovery.

To launch this initiative, Christine Fitzgerald, Board Member of Grow Mental Health presented MINI’s Friend of the Brand Mark Donnelly with a ‘Thank You’ rose. HUH Clothing is an Irish clothing start-up based in County Meath, by Donnelly during Covid. The goal for HUH is to create a stylish and comfortable clothing while raising awareness positive conversations around Mental Health. The company also donates ten per cent of its sales to mental health charities like Grow in Ireland.

As a leading international company, community and social responsibility are a top priority at MINI. For this reason, MINI has partnered with Grow Mental Health in order to support this Big Love initiative.

Julie Bothwell, Head of Sales and marketing MINI Ireland said: “MINI has always been the answer to the challenges we face with individual mobility. The willingness to rethink the status quo defines the brand to the present day, and we are motivated to do the best for our community and make a difference.”

Last year MINI partnered with Dogs Trust, Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity, on a mission to help dogs travel happier and safer across the nation by becoming the first officially dog-friendly Irish car retailer this year. MINI retailers across Ireland have accepted the challenge of becoming “truly dog friendly” by completing a Dogs Trust approved training course.

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IMAGES located HERE

 Credit: Paddy McGrath @Instagram

Mark Donnelly and HUH Clothing

MINI Ireland has also been supporting Mark Donnelly, Founder of How’s Ur Head Clothing (HUH) Clothing, a social enterprise that provides quality Irish produced clothing, whilst also raising money and awareness for mental health charities. Over the past few months, MINI collaborated with HUH to provide Random Acts of Kindness with gift boxes packed with free HUH clothing and MINI merchandise in random locations to delighted and surprise those who found them. The aim of this was “to make a stranger’s day”. Mark has also taken to the road in the distinguished HUH x MINI Cooper S to interview a few familiar faces for MINI Mental Health Moments Vlog series.

MINI in Ireland

Today MINI has a large range of vehicles suited for motorists of Ireland from the classic 3-door and 5-door MINI Cooper, along with pure battery MINI Electric. The MINI Clubman and MINI Countryman meanwhile provide more space and convenience for those that might have families or pets. MINI will also present a new generation of all-electric models that will see the brand become fully electric by 2030. Two of these new models will developed from the ground up for pure electric mobility, an exciting time for the brand.

About Big Love

#BIGLove is MINI’s way of showing how two small words can inspire positive action. Ever since the brand was born in 1959, MINI has been all about doing more with less and finding the most creative ways to use space. This involves MINI facing up to the current challenges in the areas of mobility, energy economy and climate protection with independent solutions for the driving of tomorrow. MINI is pursuing the strategic sustainability goals of the BMW Group by consistently reducing CO₂ emissions over the entire value chain. Innovative materials and enhanced use of secondary raw materials also contribute to greater sustainability.

Big Love is also about the close commitment of the brand to human beings from all communities. MINI promotes diversity – inside and outside the MINI organisation.

These are just some of the MINI ways we are showing Big Love. To find out more about MINI’s Big Love mission and all our partnerships, click here.

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The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2021, the BMW Group sold over 2.5 million passenger vehicles and more than 194,000 motorcycles
worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2020 was € 5.222 billion on revenues amounting to € 98.990 billion. As of 31 December 2020, the BMW Group had a workforce of 120,726 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products.

MINI Media:

www.press.bmwgroup.ie

www.instagram.com/MINI.ie/

www.MINI.ie
www.facebook.com/MINI.Ireland/
www.youtube.com/MINI

For further information, please contact:

Laura Condron | Communications & Strategy Manager BMW Group Ireland | 086 047 7549 | Laura.Condron@BMW.ie

Sile Tracey | Fundraising, Marketing & Communications Manager | Grow Mental Health

siletracey@grow.ie | 086 418 2125