Marks & Spencer and UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organisation, have formed a new international partnership to raise money helping UNICEF to provide life-changing education for vulnerable children across the globe.

M&S employees in Malta will be organising a number of activities to fundraise for this cause.

The first activity M&S employees will be organising is a car wash on Sunday, 1 September at the Sliema Ferries from 9am till 2.30pm.

M&S Malta joins over 50 of the retailer’s other international markets across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with the aim to collectively raise a total of $1 million in the first year. The 100 days of fundraising began on 12 August and will culminate with a day of celebration on the UN’s Universal Children’s Day on 20 November.

The money raised through the international partnership will help UNICEF to provide life-changing education for children across the globe, creating change for children, enabling them to develop their talents and abilities to the full.

More than 57 million children, the majority of them girls, are still denied their right to go to school. Poor teaching facilities, or poverty, deny many others the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Money raised through the international partnership will help UNICEF to change this.

Hubert Montesin, Marks & Spencer’s brand manager, said of the fundraising initiative: “We’re really proud to be supporting UNICEF to transform the lives of children through education. This activity is a first step towards our 100 days of fundraising.”

The fundraising challenge is in line with M&S’s ethical and environmental programme Plan A which aims to make M&S the world’s most sustainable major retailer by 2015. Launched in 2007 and extended in March 2010, it takes a holistic approach to sustainability, focusing on involving customers, engaging all areas of the business and tackling issues such as climate change, waste, raw materials, health and being a fair partner.