Season’s Greetings from Mersey Cares. Thank you for an incredible year!
17 December 2025
Here is a little recap of our most notable achievements of 2025…
A heartfelt thank you to our supporters, donors and fundraisers
As we approach the end of 2025, we want to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you to our supporters, donors and fundraisers for your continued support. Together, we’ve achieved so much this year – from bringing projects to life to enhance the experiences of service users, patients and staff to epic fundraising challenges and charity 'firsts' such as supporting Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust's 'Star Awards' and our first Easter Egg Appeal to support Children in Care services.
Grab a cup of tea and settle in for a little recap of our achievements in 2025…
Supporting services beyond NHS funding
The past 12 months have been full of meaningful projects that have made a real difference across our services. Our work supports the 'extras' that although seem relatively small and simple to do -- can have the biggest impact on patient experience and wellbeing. Here are just a few highlights:
Later Life & Memory Services
We introduced an Admiral Nurses lending library and provided resources to support therapy, including fidget toys for comfort and reducing agitation.
Children & Young People Services
From art materials to boost creativity and self-esteem, to sensory items for therapy sessions, we’ve helped create positive experiences for young people.
Transformed Outdoor Spaces - We teamed up with corporate sponsors, staff and volunteers to transform the garden at Willow House, creating a calming sanctuary for people living with dementia, their families and staff.
Bereavement Boxes and Bespoke Cards – we worked with the palliative care team to create a series of bespoke condolence cards to support bereaved families as well as a variety of ‘memory making’ items to support the grieving process.
Micro-commission creates support for carers in Liverpool - We funded a Carer Engagement Officer to support 200+ carers across diverse communities, enabling 124 referrals for formal support across the Liverpool city region.
Completion of the Mid Mersey Interoperability Project Evaluation - We funded a Research Assistant at The Life Rooms to evaluate how social prescribing links with clinical systems, resulting in 1,610 referrals and improved care co-ordination across 15 clinical teams.
Want to know more about these projects and more? Read about how we're supporting Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust in our new Impact Report!
Volunteering and Fundraising
Our supporters have gone above and beyond to raise funds for our charity this year. From half marathons, skydives, abseils, and mountain hikes to a team of jolly Santas (including Winston the dog - pictured left looking very handsome with his Santa Dash medal) taking on the Liverpool Santa Dash - your efforts have been incredible.
A huge thank you to everyone who took part and to those who donated or sponsored – your support enables us to continue vital work in mental health and community support for service users, patients, and staff.
Standout achievements
This year was full of exciting firsts for Mersey Cares including:
Star Awards Sponsorship
We proudly supported the Trust’s Staff Star Awards, securing corporate sponsorship and running a raffle that raised over £1,800 to support 2026 projects.
Easter Egg Appeal
Our first-ever Easter Egg Appeal was a huge success, with donations from staff and local businesses ensuring children in our services had a special treat.
Step into Summer Challenge
Teams across the Trust joined our first Step into Summer challenge, promoting physical health and wellbeing whilst raising funds and awareness of the charity. Local businesses came on board to offer prizes for our weekly winners, whilst the winning team won a half day staff Wellbeing Through Wildlife session at Knowsley Safari Park.
Supporting Suicide Awareness and Prevention
Our partnership with the Zero Suicide Alliance continues to strengthen, with new training resources launched this year funded by Mersey Cares with support from NHS Charities Together:
Social Isolation and Loneliness Training – launched in May during Mental Health Awareness Week with a webinar attended by 500 people. The training has been taken 2,000 times, with feedback sharing:
97% felt able to talk to someone they’re worried abou
95% would recommend the training
“Very informative… noticing small changes, like a neighbour not being in the garden anymore, can open up vital conversations."
94% feel confident to talk to someone they’re worried about
96% would recommend the training
"Really well thought out. I haven’t really experienced training from this angle before it was always focused on the patient rather than each other so thank you."
Three raffles raising almost £2,500 for service projects
This year we’ve held three raffles – two with Everton memorabilia up for grabs and our Star Awards raffle held last month on the evening of the annual staff celebration. Tickets across all the fundraisers raised an incredible £2,482 to support upcoming projects.
We launched our Friends of Mersey Cares campaign
On International Day of Charity we launched our Friends of Mersey Cares campaign to support regular donations and help us plan ahead to support our communities. Find out more: Become a Friend of Mersey Cares
Our Christmas Secret Santa Appeal
Thanks to your generosity, our Christmas Appeal will one again spread some festive magic to children and young people for whom this season can be difficult. We will reporting on its success in the New Year when all our Secret Santa gifts have been delivered.
While our Amazon Wishlist is now closed, you can still donate to our Secret Santa Fund so we can support even more children this Christmas.
Looking ahead to 2026
We have so much planned for the year ahead, with more exciting projects in the pipeline and initiatives to support service users, patients and staff.
New Fundraising Events Portfolio: From runs and walks to adrenaline challenges like skydives, there’s something for everyone! Take a look and register
Exciting ‘Power Projects’ and Corporate Collaborations: Including the creation of a traditional pub-style space and a hairdressing salon to support dementia patients at Fern Ward, Leigh Moss Hospital.
Fitness partnership: Launching in January with The Gym Group to offer free sessions for Mersey Care staff and PT sessions across Mersey Care sites.
Further ZSA training launched: Thanks to fundraising and donations we have supported ZSA with the development of new suicide awareness and prevention training focused on supporting a stranger. This will be released in early 2026.
New projects to support service users, patients and staff: We have more exciting projects to deliver in 2026 including a series of clinician-led workshops for young carers, wellbeing packages for people entering services and for children in care and an exciting art project for Halton CYPMHS.
Collaborations with Occupational Health and Wellbeing Service. We will be continuing our work with Mersey Care OHWS to deliver events at sites across the Trust including New Year ‘Time to Talk’ events with support from mental health first-aiders, and exiting initiatives such as our ongoing Mindful Origami Sessions.
A final thank you for all your support and a wishing you a joyous festive season
Just a final word as we move towards the festive holidays. None of this would be possible without you. Your support, enthusiasm, and kindness make a real difference every day, helping us to do more beyond NHS budgets. From the team at Mersey Cares, we wish you a joyful festive season and a happy, healthy New Year!
Stay tuned for updates – 2026 is going to be another fantastic year!
