We were delighted to be the Access Group Charity of the Year from July 2021 to 2022. At Access, giving back is a huge part of the culture. Each year employees are asked to nominate charities that are close to their hearts. So, when one employee, Jo, shared about her daughter’s bipolar and how it had affected them, employees voted on mass for Bipolar UK.

The Access team rallied to fundraise: 15 people did a 120-mile walk from their London to Loughborough offices and raised over £27,000. Another team cycled in the London Nightrider event, whilst other people climbed mountains and jumped out of planes on a skydive.  

The Access Group have also raised money through their Access salary ‘round to the pound’, employee lottery and ‘Give as You Earn Apps’.  Everything raised by staff has been matched £ for £ by the Access Group.

We collaborated to create an eLearning course

But they didn’t stop there.  As well as raising funds, the Access Group worked with Bipolar UK to create a short, interactive eLearning course called ‘Understanding Bipolar’. This will help educate Access employees and clients and will also be a lasting resource for Bipolar UK. We are delighted with the transformational impact that the Access Group has made to Bipolar UK.

The money raised will make a real difference

In our year of partnership, the Access Group raised a staggering £448,738 for Bipolar UK.

The money raised will help us meet the increase in demand for our services. We will be able to increase provision of our call-back and email Peer Support Line, reopen in-person Peer Support Groups across the country and support even more people affected by bipolar through our eCommunity, website and weekly newsletters. We currently support around 100,000 people a year, but with an estimated 1 million-plus people living with bipolar in the UK we know we can do so much more.

Funds raised will also support the exciting work of the Bipolar Commission which aims to dramatically reduce the number of lives lost to people living with bipolar. Launched in March 2021, the commission is a widespread engagement exercise with our lived-experience community to identify challenges in the healthcare system and ways to improve self-management, and to reduce suicidal thinking. Bipolar Commission reports and updates can be found here. The full Commission report will be launched at a parliamentary reception in November 2022.

Thank you Access!

Simon Kitchen, Bipolar UK’s CEO, expressed his thanks for the wonderful support from the Access Group. “Bipolar can be a devastating condition but with the right treatment and support we know that people with the condition can live well. The incredible sum raised by the Access Group means we’ll be able to ensure thousands more people affected by bipolar can get the support they need.”

We'd love to hear from you

Download a copy of our partnership pack here

If you would like to talk to us about opportunities to work together please email [email protected] and ask to speak to our partnership team.