Phone network Three UK has raised £1m for Samaritans, its charity partner for the last five years.

The mental health charity first started working with the phone firm in 2021 as part of a three year partnership, which was extended two years ago until April this year.

The partnership has also included collaborating on awareness raising campaigns to encourage people struggling with their mental health to seek help.

Involving football has been a focus of the partnership’s campaigning, as people are more than twice as likely to talk about the sport than their mental health being, they found.
Campaigning included the firm leveraging its sponsorship of Chelsea FC to promote mental health.

The firm, which merged with Vodafone last year, also backed the charity’s Dawn Walk 5km challenge in 2024 and last year it supported the charity’s Brew Monday initiative to encourage people to check in on a friend or a colleague.

“Reaching the £1 million fundraising total is a tremendous achievement for everyone involved with this partnership,” said VodafoneThree chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer Nicki Lyons.

“The impact made by Three UK and Samaritans working together goes far beyond simple facts and figures.

“By ensuring people open up about their mental health struggles, this partnership has no doubt saved countless lives."

Samaritans executive director of external engagement Sonya Trivedy added: “We are blown away by the life-changing amount of money Three UK has raised for Samaritans.

“Over the past five years, Three UK staff have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to helping us reach anyone who is struggling, encourage them to open up, and make sure they know they don’t have to face their challenges alone.

“By co-creating innovative campaigns that target people at higher risk of suicide and supporting our digital transformation project so we can answer more calls for help in different ways, our partnership has achieved great things.”

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