THE RAINY DAY TRUST
FEATURE
What is most efficient for us is when we physically go out and talk to people. We work with a lot of businesses including the likes of Dexam, Kuhn Rikon and KitchenCraft, and we brief their managers and staff about what we can offer. We want to build that relationship with the business, and we generally have a named contact who acts as our champion. What we try to explain to businesses is if they’ve got a happy and content team, they will be more productive and the business’ bottom line will benefit. When we talk to people, we highlight the fact that what we provide is not a handout. People go through bad patches and we’re here to help them get through that initial period of difficulty to get them back on their feet. It’s about getting people to understand that we don’t judge, we just want to help and make a difference. I’d rather get involved now, tackle it early and prevent the problem getting worse.
use to them. This happened for two reasons: the first was the expense of power tools, and the second was they were unable to complete their Maths and English qualifications due to a lack of computers. As a result, we gave those apprentices a laptop with Microsoft Office for a year, and when we did that pass rates went up to around 83%. Obviously, an apprentice cannot have worked in our industry for over a year, so we help them to get the right start in life. The argument is that it’s prevention rather than cure. If we help them now, they’re less likely to need us in the future.
What can the industry do to help The Rainy Day Trust? BC: There are a variety of ways people can support us. The first is through direct donations; we have business partnerships with the likes of KitchenCraft, Dexam and Kuhn Rikon who donate £1200 per year. The other way is through donating stock. We have an eBay shop and Facebook marketplace outlets where people donate stock to us which we sell to raise money. It can be samples, end of line products or even stock with damaged boxes.
The Rainy Day Trust is celebrating its 180th anniversary this year, can you tell us about your plans for the milestone? BC: In March we did the Mad March Million and we’ll be running our 180th anniversary golf day and dinner in July. I’m doing the Challenge 180 which comprises six 30-mile hikes overnight to raise money through sponsorship. We’ve already had some great sponsors on board from the likes of Dexam and Addis. We’re asking businesses to get involved by running their own 180 challenges, this could be anything from walking 180 miles over the course of the year to baking and selling 180 cupcakes.
If we’re not able to help for a particular need, we’re also able to do the
search to help people find the specific help. We’re specialists in that field so we can find different sources of assistance no matter where they are.
How can those in need get the help? BC: Half of those we help come to us directly through the website. They can click on the ‘Get Help’ button and apply online or send us an enquiry. The other half come to us through referrals from agencies or charities.
housewareslive.net
housewareslive.net
What are your plans following the anniversary year? How will you continue to develop the charity? BC: We’re following standard plans for evolution which are centred around meeting the change in need. The aim is to consolidate what we’ve done this year but also be ready to change and adapt. Whilst the inflation figure may be 4% by the end of the year, prices will still be considerably higher than they were a year and a half ago. Those problems are not going away. We will aim to meet the change in need and develop more mental health support programmes as it becomes more prevalent. We’ve also got to generate more money to meet that need. All charities are finding the fundraising environment incredibly difficult at the moment so it’s about finding other ways for people to be able to support us without the expense.
January/February 2023 | 11 June/July 2023 | 21
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