Our charity partners
From funding apprenticeships to lobbying for change, we’re helping care-experienced people get a fairer start in life.
Help us do more
Why do we care
All young people deserve help and encouragement to reach their goals. For those raised in care, it’s even more important. 108,000 children and young people are living in care in the UK – and some of our brightest and most talented people have care experience. But too often their incredible potential is being overlooked. Care-experienced people don’t often get access to the same opportunities as those who can call on family for help. In fact, people from the care community are more likely to be made homeless than go to university.
105 K
children are growing up in care in the UK
4 in 10
care leavers aged 19-21 are not in education, employment or training
33%
increase in care leavers (18-20 year olds) facing homelessness since 2018
45%
of children in care have a recognised mental health concern
14%
of care leavers progress onto higher education by age 19 (compared to 47% of other children)
5x
less likely to achieve a grade 5 in English and maths compared with all pupils
Our long-term commitment
We believe our young people deserve better. The John Lewis Partnership was founded on the belief that when you raise everyone up and give them access to the same opportunities, society thrives and so does business. We’ll do all we can to drive change and unlock the potential of children and young people who’ve experienced care.
Employment
We want to be the employer of choice for care-experienced people
Fundraising
We continue to fundraise for investment in the care-experience community
Change
We aim to influence societal change by making our voice heard and collaborating with experts
How we're helping
We’ve already made quite an impact since first launching our Building Happier Futures¹ programme in October 2022:
£2.8m
Raised for charities supporting the care-experienced community through selling products in our shops, online and through other customer fundraising initiatives.
£271k
Raised for the Building Happier Futures Fund through the sale of our Made by Care products, designed by care-experienced aspiring designers.
1,331
care-experienced people have attended employability programme welcome tours in our shops, offices and supply chain
888
work experience placements offering hands-on skills and experience for the future
359
roles offered to care-experienced people
Made by Care
Designed by Leah
Care-experienced teacher and designer, Leah has collaborated with our in-house design team to create this exclusive new collection.
The design team selected Leah as this year’s successful candidate as they were so impressed by her wildflower artwork. Representing her care experiences, Leah says wildflowers possess an inherent resilience, strength and unique ability to thrive and flourish, embodying a fierce and free spirit.
The new season Made by Care collection includes a tote bag, scarf and even a jigsaw puzzle
– all perfect for gifting with meaning this season.
Made by Care has grown from our Building Happier Futures programme and all profits from each product sold will be donated to that fund, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership Foundation.²
Shop the new Made by Care collection here
Our charity partners
Along with Action for Children, Who Cares? Scotland and Home-Start, we’re working to create a happier future for care-experienced people
Ensuring kids in care, and young people from care, have a safe and happy childhood as well as the foundations to thrive
Home-Start volunteers offer early support when they're needed most, working with parents to keep families safely together and create the best possible start for children
A national voluntary organisation giving a voice to young people from care across Scotland
Donations Terms & Conditions
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Building Happier Futures: 100% of your donation will go to the Building Happier Futures fund, part of the John Lewis Partnership Foundation, registered company number 06058796 and charity number 1118162. Your donation will contribute to building supportive communities for care-experienced people, and help families and carers to create happy and secure homes. The John Lewis Partnership Foundation has committed to use 65% of total donations to continue supporting our work with Action for Children, Home-Start UK and Who Cares? Scotland.
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Made by Care collection: John Lewis and Waitrose will donate all taxable profits from each full price product sold to the John Lewis Partnership Foundation, registered charity number 1118162. The donation will contribute to building supportive communities for care-experienced people, and help families and carers to create happy and secure homes. The John Lewis Partnership Foundation has committed to use 65% of total donations to continue supporting our work with: Action for Children (Charity no. in England and Wales 1097940 and in Scotland SC038092), Home-Start UK (Charity no. in England and Wales 1108837 and in Scotland SC039172) and Who Cares? Scotland (Registered Charity Number: SC026076)