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FoodCycle: Working to Eradicate Loneliness and Food Poverty

The charity FoodCycle is on a mission to make food poverty, food waste and loneliness a thing of the past. The organisation works to connect communities and create welcoming spaces for individuals from all walks of life to eat, meet and converse, supporting general health and wellbeing. FoodCycle cooks using surplus ingredients, helping people to learn more about healthy food and promoting sustainable attitudes to food and how its production impacts the environment.

Foodcycle’s Impact

FoodCycle has already had a significant impact in the communities in which it operates. To date, it has saved 320 tonnes of food from going to waste, with the organisation’s volunteers giving over 162,000 hours of their time. Of FoodCycle’s guests, 91% state that the scheme has allowed them to meet people from different backgrounds.

The charity recognises the potential of community dining to improve mental wellbeing and community connections. When it comes to scheme guests, 75% can’t afford to purchase the food they need, with 41% of guests not owning or having access to an oven. Furthermore, 67% of guests state that, outside of FreeCycle, they eat meals alone.

How Do FoodCycle’s Community Meals Work?

FoodCycle is one of the carefully curated organisations included in Percent for Good’s Cost of Living Cause Portfolio. Percent for Good, founded by Mark Lyttleton, aims to make it as easy as possible for professionals to regularly donate to the causes that matter most to them. FoodCycle’s community meals are free, open to all, nutritious, made using ingredients that would have otherwise gone to waste and cooked by local volunteers.

The community meals aim to offer a friendly atmosphere where everyone feels like they belong, whether people attend as guests or volunteers. There is no need for guests to book a place at a meal; they can simply arrive at the time listed on the website, where details of all the projects currently running can be found.

Partnership with Wagamama

In April 2025, FoodCycle announced a new collaboration with Wagamama, which chose the organisation as its new charity partner. This partnership will see Wagamama make a financial donation that’s equivalent to 15,000 dishes or 5,000 three-course meals and work with their suppliers to donate retail kits, food and drink to FoodCycle’s community meals. Wagamama has also pledged to help cook at FoodCycle’s community meals, host thank you meals for volunteers, encourage Wagamama staff to volunteer, invite FoodCycle guests to dine for free at their restaurants, and provide skill-share sessions for hosting and cooking volunteers.

CALM: Uniting People Against Suicide

The charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) has been on a mission to prevent suicide since becoming a national charity in 2005. Every day in the UK 18 people are lost to suicide, with one in five people experiencing suicidal thoughts at some point in their life.

To this end, CALM provides life-saving services, advice and information to anyone struggling and campaigns to make sure everyone has the skills and knowledge to unite against suicide. The organisation has a range of tools available that offer practical ways to manage mental health.

CALM’s History

The Campaign Against Living Miserably began in 1997 when the organisation launched its first helpline, originally an NHS pilot scheme in Merseyside. By 2000 CALM had branched out, with its services expanded to Cumbria, Bedfordshire and Luton, becoming a national charity in 2005. Moving forward to 2010, awareness of the helpline had grown substantially, with 13,000 calls being answered annually.

In 2012 CALM was the recipient of a Guardian charity award, and between 2012 and 2013, the charity’s helpline answered 28,930 calls. A petition supported by the organisation in 2018 gathered 400,000 signatures and led to the government appointing the first Minister for Suicide Prevention, with the helpline answering 95,167 calls between 2018 and 2019.

Today, people continue to reach out to CALM, which sees over 134,000 people a year call the helpline or reach out via webchat. The charity has, to date, directly prevented 646 suicides.

Changing Conversations and Society

CALM is one the charities in the Health and Wellbeing Cause Portfolio curated by the organisation Percent for Good, founded by Mark Lyttleton. It is committed to changing conversations around suicide and mental health and challenging stigmas that may prevent people from discussing suicide. CALM has partnered with organisations including Dave, ITV, SEAT, Spotify and LNER to reach millions and achieve its goals.

The organisation’s campaign Project 84 involved placing 84 life-size statues of men on top of the ITV buildings in London to highlight the fact that 84 men commit suicide every week in the UK. CALM’s collaboration with SEAT, the Grow a Pair campaign, saw a pair of giant ears installed in London to encourage men to listen to those they care about. The idea was to remove the awkwardness of starting a conversation about how well someone is doing. In 2021, the charity launched the Stay campaign to convey the message to those that were struggling that things can change – and that no matter how hard things may seem, there is always a way forward.

Sport in Mind: Transforming the Nation’s Mental Health

The charity Sport in Mind is on a mission to transform the UK’s mental health through sport, supporting people with mental health problems via physical activities. It’s one of the carefully curated organisations that make up the charity Percent for Good’s Health & Wellbeing Cause Portfolio.

Harnessing the Power of Sport

The leading mental health sports charity in England and Wales, Sport in Mind aims to harness the power of sport to educate, inspire and promote good health. The charity was founded in 2010 and has worked in partnership with the NHS to help over 31,000 people struggling with mental health challenges to date. The charity’s programmes are designed to make sport accessible to all and champion the many advantages of physical activity.

A Range of Innovative Programmes

Percent for Good was founded by Mark Lyttleton to help make it easier for professionals to donate regularly to the causes that matter most to them via donations or Payroll Giving. The scheme’s Cause Portfolios allow donations to be spread, thereby broadening the impact of every individual donation.

Sport in Mind offers a range of innovative programmes created by healthcare professionals and those who have personal experience with mental health challenges. As well as adult and youth programmes, the charity offers mother and baby programmes and a variety of pregnancy and post-natal resources, supporting perinatal mental health in mother and baby units.

A History of Support

The origins of Sport in Mind can be traced back to 2009, when eventual-founder Neil Harris devised a programme of physical activity in a bid to help a childhood friend, Jamie, who had become mentally unwell. Although initially reluctant to give the programme a try, with Neil’s encouragement he took small, gradual steps, starting with a one-minute walk, followed by a two minute walk the next day, moving slowly away from the perceived safety of home and building his confidence. By the four-week mark, Jamie’s health and wellbeing was improving. Neil continued to work with his friend, helping him follow the designed programme of physical activity. Within nine months, Jamie’s self-esteem had significantly improved, his symptoms had reduced and he was able to return to full-time employment.

In 2010, driven by the success of the programme, Neil set up Sport in Mind, initially providing services and opportunities to those in Reading and Berkshire. Subsequently expanded across the south of England and Wales, the charity has now delivered thousands of sessions to support the mental health of adults, children and young people.

Percent for Good’s Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio: Surfers Against Sewage

Percent for Good offers several Cause Portfolios, which have been carefully curated to allow people to easily and regularly give to the charitable organisations that matter most to them via donations and Payroll Giving. One of the charities in the Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio is Surfers Against Sewage, which has been campaigning for clean rivers, oceans and lakes for 35 years.

A Crystal-Clear Mission

For Surfers Against Sewage, the mission is clear: to empower, support and unite individuals to protect oceans and waterways. The charity’s vision is Thriving Ocean, Thriving People, and it understands that the only way to turn the tide on water pollution is by creating a community of ocean lovers who are passionate about the cause.

Taking Action

The Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio, which incorporates Surfers Against Sewage, has been put together by Percent for Good, a charity founded by Mark Lyttleton. To be eligible to feature in a portfolio, a charity must have limited resources, strong governance, strategic partnerships in place and a strong vision.

Surfers Against Sewage fits these criteria and offers many ways for volunteers to get involved with its work. Those who are interested in supporting the charity could become a Surfers Against Sewage member, get involved with fundraising or register a beach clean. The organisation’s #EndSewagePollution campaign is already forcing water companies and the government to take action.

The Impact of Ocean Activism

Surfers Against Sewage is committed to developing a community of Ocean Activists, connecting people – wherever they are in the country – with the issues that matter, from plastic in their outdoor spaces to pollution in their community’s waterways. To date, the charity’s volunteers have prevented 6 billion plastic bags from damaging marine environments, while over 44,000 Ocean Activists have signed the petition to end sewage pollution. Furthermore, Surfers Against Sewage’s beach clean volunteer community is the largest in the UK.

Campaign Successes

The charity has experienced significant successes in its past campaigns. For example, its work in the 1990s and 2000s led to 98.5% of the UK’s 625 designated bathing waters being classified as sufficient, good or excellent, compared to just 27% when Surfers Against Sewage’s work in this field began.

The End Sewage Pollution National Day of Action was held in April 2022, with thousands of activists across the UK taking part in 12 protests. The campaign attracted media attention, which is vital in keeping up the pressure on the government and big companies to make positive change.

The Social Mobility Cause Portfolio: How Percent for Good is Driving Positive Change

Percent for Good is a charity founded by Mark Lyttleton, with the aim of making it as easy as possible for professionals to donate to the causes that matter to them most via donations and Payroll Giving. To this end, the charity has curated several Cause Portfolios, each of which incorporates a range of charities working across various sectors.

Smart Works

The first of the charities in the Social Mobility Cause Portfolio is Smart Works, which exists to help unemployed women get the clothing, coaching and confidence they need to gain employment and positively change the trajectory of their lives. Over the past decade, Smart Works, which has 12 centres across the UK, has supported around 40,000 women into employment. One of its key services is focused on interview dressing and preparation, which aims to help service users look and feel their best in an interview and provides coaching to help women feel more confident and ready to put their best foot forward.

Unseen

For Mark Lyttleton, Percent for Good’s founder, it’s vital that each of the charities in the Social Mobility Cause Portfolio are high impact, working to make tangible change in their communities. Unseen meets this criterion: this organisation is on a mission to end exploitation and modern slavery, providing advocacy and support to survivors and a range of specialist services to businesses.

upReach

upReach supports undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds, helping them to access top graduate jobs for long-term employment. The charity works closely with universities and employers, delivering one-to-one coaching to eligible graduates and providing personalised support to students all over the UK.

Ark Resettlement Services

The next charity in Percent for Good’s Social Mobility Cause Portfolio is Ark Resettlement Services, which provides education and support to those on probation to help them safely reintegrate into their communities. The organisation’s overarching vision is a world in which all ex-offenders are offered a chance to succeed, and it provides a high standard of accommodation to service users for up to two years from their release.

Key4Life

Giving a brighter future to young offenders and those at risk of offending is the remit of the charity Key4Life. The organisation is already making a real difference: just 7% of individuals who have been through Key4Life’s preventative and prison programmes have reoffended, in comparison with the national reoffending rate of 64%. The charity runs programmes for both under and over 18s, including equine therapy, behavioural and emotional support workshops, music therapy and employability workshops.

Percent for Good’s Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio Is Helping to Create a Greener Britain

The charity Percent for Good has put together several carefully curated portfolios, each of which incorporates a range of charities operating across a number of sectors. The Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio is made up of high-impact charities that have been chosen according to Percent for Good’s stringent criteria and are working to make a real difference to communities.

Surfers Against Sewage

One of the charities in the Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio is Surfers Against Sewage, which calls for radical reform of the UK’s water industry. This organisation campaigns for clean rivers, lakes and oceans and is demanding an end by 2030 of sewage discharge into UK bathing waters. Surfers Against Sewage is also driving an end to plastic pollution on UK beaches by 2030 and is working to empower campaigners to take on polluters, as well as harnessing its volunteer network to actually clean up the beaches and seas.

The Rivers Trust

The Rivers Trust is another charity in the Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio. On a mission to save rivers and help communities thrive, this organisation uses donations to hold polluters to account and gather hard evidence to influence legislative and policy change. To maximise its impact, The Rivers Trust works directly with businesses to enhance, protect and restore rivers in the UK and Ireland and has a corporate partnership programme in place. The latter allows businesses to work alongside the trust to develop interventions and reach mutual strategic goals, delivering tangible change at scale. In this way, businesses can demonstrate their commitment to sustainable solutions and ethical practices.

The Conservation Volunteers

The Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio curated by Percent for Good (founded by Mark Lyttleton) also incorporates The Conservation Volunteers, which connects people and green spaces to deliver long-term outcomes for both. Via the organisation’s schemes, thousands of people across the UK are getting involved with nature on their doorsteps and contributing to its protection.

Rewilding Britain

The next charitable organisation in the Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio is Rewilding Britain. As well as empowering rewilders across the UK, Rewilding Britain is challenging landowners and decision makers to change policies, practices and laws to allow rewilding of the nation’s land and seas and is gathering science-backed evidence to prove the many benefits of rewilding.

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is also part of the Nature & Environment Cause Portfolio and is an organisation that aims to create a world in which bumblebees are valued and thriving. Leading the fight to protect these invaluable insects’ future, the trust influences government policy, undertakes research and creates habitats that are bumblebee friendly.

How to Work Smarter to Boost Mental Wellbeing

A recent TUC analysis revealed that British workers put in the longest hours in Europe but aren’t the most productive. Interestingly, the country where the working hours are the shortest – Denmark – boasts 23.5% higher productivity. Working smarter, rather than harder, could be the answer to boost mental wellbeing, improve job satisfaction and achieve more.

Harnessing Natural Energy

An effective means to work smarter is to harness our natural energy. For example, many people are at their most focused and productive in the morning, so this could be the optimum time to schedule tasks that require deep or complex thinking. This approach also allows us to recognise the best time to down tools, to ensure we get the rest required to work well the following day.

Focus on One Task at a Time

While multitasking may seem like a good way to be productive, it can actually cause us to make more errors and not give the focus required to each task. Time blocking may be a good strategy to resist the temptation to multitask, which involves grouping tasks together to work through them in chunks. A multitude of easy, five-minute tasks could all be completed in one go, for example, or scheduled to be tackled first thing on Monday morning, and meetings arranged back to back. Setting a specific time of day to read and respond to emails and instant messages can be a means of preventing these things from being a constant distraction throughout the day.

Working in Short Bursts

Those with an interest in this subject, such as entrepreneur Mark Lyttleton, understand that working in short bursts with plenty of breaks throughout the day can also help us work smarter and maintain engagement with tasks. There are a variety of frameworks that support this approach, such as scheduling brief breaks and using timers.

Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination can be one of the biggest obstacles to achieving productivity. Understanding the reason for our procrastination is often the first step in overcoming it. If, say, we’re delaying getting started as the task ahead isn’t an enjoyable one, having a reward to look forward to once it’s completed can be a good solution.

The Benefits of Working Smarter, Not Harder

As well as boosting productivity and efficiency, working smarter can improve our mental heath by enhancing the work-life balance and up-levelling a sense of positivity, with workers feeling more satisfied due to better productivity. This in turn can lead to a happier workplace and work life overall.

Why Give to Charity?

There are many benefits to giving to charity – for the organisations, the causes they support and the donor themselves. There is also a plethora of reasons that people donate to charity, ranging from a sense of moral duty to social dynamics to how good giving makes us feel.

Reasons People Give: The Stats

According to a recent survey by the Charity Aid Foundation (CAF), 96% of donors reported doing so from a sense of altruism, while 75% of respondents gave as they felt passionate about a specific cause. Motivation due to their faith was the reason behind 71% of respondents’ donations, and 61% did so as a result of experiences they had undergone that made them keen to support the relevant cause. A feeling of trust in a specific charity, and the feelgood factor engendered by charitable giving, were also listed as reasons behind giving.

Happiness Boosting

Giving to charity can boost happiness and deliver a feeling of fulfilment, improving mood and even combating loneliness. It’s a powerful way to nurture a sense of purpose, reduce stress and increase resilience. There are plenty of ways to give, from volunteering to donating via a Payroll Giving scheme – as facilitated by Percent For Good, a charity founded by Mark Lyttleton to make donating to charities as easy as possible for professionals.

Health Enhancing

Better heart health and a longer lifespan are just a couple of the health benefits of charitable giving. Furthermore, volunteering with a charity often offers opportunities to be more physically active, which is a great way to enhance general physical and mental wellbeing.

Tax Saving

Giving to charity can have tax benefits too, with the UK Government offering tax credits or deductions in relation to donations. Furthermore, giving via a will is not only tax free but may also reduce the amount of inheritance tax payable on a deceased individual’s estate.

Positively Impacting Society

Charitable giving also positively impacts societies and communities. As well as reducing inequalities, it can boost education and employment opportunities and promote environmental sustainability – supporting a charity working in the latter sector may help combat climate change, preserve natural resources and promote sustainable practices.

Creating a Positive Cascade

When people experience a positive feeling from doing something they’re more likely to want to do more of it, and this includes donating to charity. This can create a ‘positive cascade’ where donors actively seek out ways to give or volunteer again.

A Look Ahead to 2025’s Predicted Stock Market Trends 

Overall, 2024 was a good year on the stock market, with interest rates falling as the year progressed. Now, many analysts are predicting a positive 2025, but there are real risks abroad that could spell an ongoing period of volatility. 

Interest and Inflation Rates 

In the US, interest rates were lowered in September 2024 in the wake of the summer’s drop in inflation. With inflation set to drop further to 2% in 2025, many analysts think the Fed will continue to cut interest rates incrementally as the year goes on. However, there is still the risk of ‘stagnation’ in 2025, which is the persistence of high inflation despite a softening labour market and economy. This could have a significant impact on the 2025 stock market. 

Spending on Artificial Intelligence 

Another major factor in what will affect the stock market and its trends in 2025 is the staggering rise of worldwide spending on artificial intelligence. This figure is expected to reach $632 billion by 2028 according to a recent IDC Spending Guide. The largest category of technology spending is predicted to be on software, which will make up over half the overall AI market described in the forecast. 

Tensions on the Global Stage 

Experienced investors like Mark Lyttleton, founder of Percent for Good, know that escalating global unrest could introduce volatility to the stock market in 2025, particularly if this unrest disrupts worldwide commodities supply or trade. In terms of the US, the engagement of American troops on overseas soil would likely take a negative toll on investor sentiment, impacting stock prices as a direct result. 

The New US Administration 

There is further uncertainty in the stock market as investors wait to see the economic and social effect of President Elect Donald Trump’s administration. Trump has already pledged to reduce the amount of corporation tax to 15% (from 21%) for companies making their products within the US.  

The new administration has also indicated that it is interested in cutting regulations around financial services, energy production and environmental protection. For investors, this may signal an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions, which is currently at a relatively low level. 

Cautious Optimism 

Heading into 2025, the prevailing mood in the stock market is cautious optimism. Lower interest rates and exciting advancements in innovation and technology are generating a sense of positivity, although investors should remain mindful of global tensions, high valuations and political uncertainty, which could all cause ongoing volatility. 

How Uncertainty Can Prevent Some People From Giving to Charity at All 

For some people, uncertainty about the amount of money they should donate to charity prevents them from donating at all. In such instances, it can be helpful to consider some of the possible options, as detailed below. 

Giving What We Don’t Need 

Rather than looking at the question of how much to donate to charity as having two extreme answers – giving nothing or giving everything – a possible middle ground is donating what we don’t need.  

In 2019, philosopher Toby Ord decided that he had a moral obligation to give everything he didn’t need to charitable causes. To this end, he created a living allowance and gave away all the money he earned over this amount. Ord called this the Further Pledge, and over 10 years later he is still following its tenets, as do others in the Giving What We Can community, which he also founded. 

Request Charitable Donations Instead of Gifts 

Another way to approach giving to charity is asking friends and family members to make a donation on our behalf, rather than buying a gift. For those who perhaps don’t have the capacity to make regular cash donations, this could be a good option. It can make a big difference, too: Facebook birthday fundraisers garnered more than $1 billion in donations to charitable causes between 2015 and 2020. 

Give What Won’t Be Missed 

The One for the World pledge and the Trial Pledge are about giving (at the least) an amount that we won’t miss. Both pledges ask people to consider donating 1% or more of their income. The idea is that very few people would notice a difference in their standard of living if they were to live off 99% – as opposed to 100% – of their income.  

For some people, making a donation via a Payroll Giving scheme – such as Percent for Good, founded by Mark Lyttleton – can be an easy way of regularly giving what they can afford directly from their salaries before tax. This particular organisation encourages professionals to donate 1% of their salary to charitable causes. 

What Is the Average Donation Amount in the UK? 

For some people, it can be helpful to consider the average donation size when deciding how much to give. In the UK, between 2020 and 2021 the average person (above the age of 16) donated £27 to charity, a rise of 35% on the average amount donated between 2013 and 2014, which was £20.