Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Industry charity the Rainy Day Trust is nearly half-way through its 175th anniversary year.
The Rainy Day Trust is the UK’s only charity supporting the home improvement and home enhancement workforce and their families in times of need.
Chief executive officer Bryan Clover said: “We’ve been helping people like you and those around you for 175 years, and intend to be here for another 175 years too.
“The need for our help remains strong, particularly from apprentices and younger people. Our provision of free laptops and MS Office software to apprentices means that pass rates are improving and businesses are benefitting as they don’t lose their youngsters part-way through their training.
“Our new partnership with the Worshipful Company of Builders’ Merchants means that we are set to help even more people than ever before and hope to develop a model that can be replicated in other sectors.
“We want to work much more closely with housewares, garden centre and DIY businesses, providing the type of support that people really need.”
He added: “You may have heard in the news recently that SSE was the last of the big six utility companies to announce an inflation-busting 7% price increase for its energy customers. While we are currently heading into summer and though thoughts of winter fuel bills may seem a long way off, we want to get people thinking ahead now.
“We’ve always run a programme that helps with utility bills, but few people have taken advantage of it. Our usual qualification criteria apply, so why not let people around you know about it?
“To qualify, you just need to have worked in DIY, housewares, builders’ merchants or garden centres for at least 12 months, have less than £10,000 in savings and earn less than about £22,000 a year; we say ‘about’ because it varies according to where you live.
“We can pre-pay up to £250 to your utility company to head off the worst of the winter fuel bills. We can back that up by paying for your boiler and heating system to be serviced. And on top of that, we can contribute towards a new boiler if that’s what you need.
“There are stacks of people in our industries who could take advantage of this programme and stay warm this winter. The application is simple and completely confidential. So why not get ahead of the game and apply? Give us a call on 0203 192 0486, or visit the website and drop us an e-mail at www.rainydaytrust.org.uk”
