Celebrating five years of partnership with Superdrug and Switchboard
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2022 marks the fifth year of Unilever and Superdrug’s partnership with Switchboard - a charity dedicated to providing vital support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
This donation will help fund the training of Switchboard volunteers, as well as supporting the development of a website and online training resources so they can continue to grow and recruit more volunteers across the UK.
The Pride collection is available exclusively at Superdrug for the year, and includes a range of products from Lynx, Simple and Vaseline.
The Pride products have Switchboard’s contact details on the front of the packs, aiming to raise awareness and increase the visibility of the Switchboard Helpline.
Last year, we worked with Superdrug to create a series of short films to raise awareness of Switchboard and celebrate the lived experiences of some of the UK’s LGBTQ+ community. This year, Unilever and Superdrug teamed up once more to capture the changes and growth in the lives of the ‘United We Stand’ queer group from the campaign last year.
The film continues the stories of:
Aamir and Amir who are the first gay South Asian couple to be married in Bradford
AJ and Kai who are two young trans men in their early twenties growing up in Liverpool
Martina who transitioned later in life and now lives in rural Yorkshire
Millie who is a young lesbian living in London.
In an uplifting discussion about feeling powerful and feeling a sense of freedom in being their authentic self, each individual talks about how being part of the LGBTQIA+ community has helped them finally feel comfortable in their own skin without judgement.
The theme of continuity echoes our long-term partnership with Superdrug and Switchboard. Five years of partnership has allowed for real action and change; not only has the partnership enabled Switchboard to ensure their helpline number reaches Superdrug shoppers across the UK, it has also provided invaluable volunteer resource for the charity and the people they support.
The films within the United We Stand campaign share some of the untold stories of today, and we hope this film will continue to inspire and encourage celebration of the community for this year and beyond.
Chris Barron, Vice President for Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care
Chris Barron, Vice President for Beauty & Personal Care, says: “Five years marks a significant moment in our partnership with Superdrug and Switchboard Helpline, and we are proud that our brands can continue to support the important work they do for the LGBTQ+ community.
“The films within the United We Stand campaign share some of the untold stories of today, and we hope this film will continue to inspire and encourage celebration of the community for this year and beyond.”
Over the five years of the partnership so far, Unilever and Superdrug’s donations to Switchboard have funded over 266 volunteers, and amounting to over 7,000 calls, instant messages and emailed answered over the five-year period.
Switchboard is a charity dedicated to providing vital support for the LGBTQ+ community and is open 365 days per year thanks to its team of dedicated volunteers. It was founded in 1974 and operates a nationwide helpline which offers people a safe space to discuss sexuality, gender and identity.
In 2021, Switchboard listening volunteers provided valuable listening support on 15,136 occasions for those who needed to talk about sexuality and gender identity. This equates to 7,536 hours or the equivalent of listening non-stop for 314 full days.
