WHEN you visit your local Peter Mark salon, you wouldn’t expect to see fancy dress parties, bake sales, and pyjama parties, but that was the case at two Kerry Peter Mark stores as they did their part in the€60,000 raised during the Petermarkathon in aid of Aware Ireland held last October.

The stores in Abbey Court, Tralee, and Scott Gardens, Killarney, can be proud of their contribution to the €60,000, which was presented recently to Aware, who do invaluable work in schools throughout Ireland through their Beat the Blues programme.

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The money raised means this vital programme can continue to support Irish young people in our schools.

Beat the Blues is a programme delivered free of charge by Aware each year to some 30,000 students aged from 15 – 18 years old with a view to empowering this vulnerable group to help them understand how to look after their mental health and deal with everyday concerns before they spiral out of control.

Beat the Blues is a 70-minute programme and is very well received by students and teachers alike. It covers topics including principles for good mental health and actions that can help. The importance of looking at the positive aspects of our lives.

Speaking about the initiative, Peter O’Rourke, CEO of Peter Mark said, “We are so grateful to all our clients and salon teams; this is an incredible sum of money which we are delighted to give to this fantastic organisation.  At a time when depression and mental health issues have never been more prevalent, it is so important to help an organisation like Aware deliver a public service like Beat the Blues.

For more information about Aware and especially its programmes for teens, see www.aware.ie.