Magic Breakfast announces transformative partnership with

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

2-year partnership to provide 1 million healthy breakfasts & expert support

to schools in disadvantaged areas of the UK

 

Tuesday 28th February, 2017:  Magic Breakfast is delighted to announce a two year partnership with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. It will see the firm’s employees sharing their skills with the charity, and raising funds to provide one million healthy breakfasts to schools in disadvantaged areas of the UK.

 

Over half a million children in the UK arrive at school each day too hungry or malnourished to learn.*  The most important lessons are taught in the morning, so one nutritious Magic Breakfast can unlock up to four hours of crucial learning for a child who would otherwise be ‘running on empty’ and unable to concentrate.

 

Independent research published by the Education Endowment Foundation and carried out by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, with the support of Magic Breakfast, found that Year 2 children attending schools that offered them a free, nutritious breakfast before lessons boosted their reading, writing and maths by as much as two months over the course of an academic year.**

 

Bank of America Merrill Lynch will be investing in the life chances of more than two and a half thousand children every school day for two years, not only helping to improve academic and health outcomes, but increasing the likelihood of economic and social mobility for some of the country’s most vulnerable children.

 

Carmel McConnell MBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Magic Breakfast, said:  “I want to thank Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s UK workforce for choosing to support the work of Magic Breakfast at a level which is truly transformative. This ambitious charity partnership will fund over one million healthy breakfasts to UK school children who right now risk missing their classroom learning through hunger or malnourishment.  We are passionate about every child having the chance to succeed, and to have the bank alongside, with such strong and sincere commitment, gives Magic Breakfast a massive boost towards ending child classroom hunger in this country, forever."

 

Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, president, EMEA at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said: “I’m delighted that our UK employees are supporting Magic Breakfast. From past experience, I know that we will pull out all the stops to raise vital funds to help children access breakfast clubs and nutrition advice. One cannot overestimate the importance of a healthy meal to start the day, and the long term benefits this can bring.”

 

ENDS

 

Key

 

* "Breakfast consumption in UK schoolchildren and provision of school breakfast clubs". A Hoyland, KA McWilliams, RJ Duff & JL Walton: Nutrition Bulletin (2012), 37: 232-240

** https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/our-work/projects/magic-breakfast/

 

 

NOTES 

 

About Magic Breakfast

·      Magic Breakfast is a registered charity (number: 1102510) providing healthy breakfasts to over 31,000 UK children every school day as essential fuel for learning.

·      The charity works with schools where over 35% of children are eligible for Free School Meals, or with Ever 6 FSM, helping them to establish breakfast provision that targets every vulnerable child. A hungry child cannot concentrate and will miss out on the most important lessons, taught in the morning, if not given anything to eat.

·      There are 467 Magic Breakfast partner schools - primary, secondary, SEN schools and Pupil Referral Units - but we have over 300 schools on our waiting list requesting urgent food aid.

·      Each Magic Breakfast consists of low-sugar, low-salt Tesco cereal, Quaker Oats porridge, Bagel Nash bagels and Tropicana fruit juice (diluted 50/50 with water).

·      Magic Breakfast was the sole winner, in 2014, of the Department for Education’s Lot 3 tender to set up new breakfast clubs in 184 schools in areas of social deprivation.

·      The goal of Magic Breakfast is to ensure that, by 2020, there are no children in the UK starting lessons too hungry to learn.

 

About Bank of America Merrill Lynch

At Bank of America Merrill Lynch, our commitment to growing our business responsibly is embedded in every aspect of our company. It is demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees; the responsible products and services we offer our clients; and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with not-for-profits and advocate groups, such as community organisations, in order to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Supported by grants from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, we focus on building pathways to economic mobility by supporting initiatives that help young people transition from education into employment. Combining our financial and human capital, we provide the skills, knowledge and tools that will help young people succeed.

 

Learn more at www.bankofamerica.com/about and connect with us on Twitter @BofAML.

 

During Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s two year partnership with Magic Breakfast, employees will be raising funds to:

1.     Provide 1 million healthy breakfasts and expert support, unlocking up to 4 million hours of learning;

2.     Support 38 Magic Breakfast partner schools;

3.     Ensure 2,546 children are fed and ready to learn each school day.