A Bridge Street marketing consultant is raising awareness for pre and postnatal mental health.

Macclesfield-based Merrehill, a B2B lead generation and email marketing agency, has teamed up with local perinatal mental health charity Smile Group to show support for parents facing emotional challenges in the pre and postnatal period.

Lee Shore, Managing Director of Merrehill, is a father of four and met Smile's Director, Ruth Williams, via a BNI business network and was astounded by the gap that the charity has filled in the past ten years, with its weekly support groups, talk therapy and home visits programme for parents experiencing perinatal anxiety and low mood.

Lee has generously offered to donate £2,000 each year to Smile and is also offering the charity complimentary use of the agency's office space.

Merrehill has already kicked off fundraising by sponsoring the charity's Welly Walk, which ran until June 13, and invited people to walk the equivalent 26-mile distance between Smile's four peer support locations in Macclesfield, Congleton, Sandbach and Nantwich, over a two-week period. The Welly Walk has already clocked up £1,800.

Commenting on the partnership, Lee said: "I was really blown away when I heard about the level of support provided to local families by Smile, which has been more important than ever during the pandemic when many new parents have felt really isolated.

"I'm very community-minded so the fact that Smile is on our doorstep sealed the partnership as we're a local business with a passion to support a local charity."

Ruth Williams, Operations Director at Smile Group said: "As a small but visionary charity with a ten-year track record, Smile is reliant on grants fundraising and donations so we are thrilled to team up with Merrehill. We adapted our services to ensure continuous support for local families throughout the pandemic – the need for our services is even greater than ever."

Merrehill runs B2B Lead generation email campaigns for UK businesses and has a database of over 1.4 million records offering the capacity for clients to target their audience by industry, geography and size.

Postnatal depression affects 1 in every 10 women that have a baby. It can also affect the mental health of their partners.

You can also find more information on maternity in Macclesfield on the NHS website.

For more information visit the websites of Merrehill and The Smile Group.

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