CHARITY NEWS
“At hand, whatever stage of life you’re at.”
The charity that has
Rainy Day Trust launches new brand, website and a promise to be there sooner supported
the home improvement and home enhancement sector for over 180 years marks a new chapter; preventing hardship and supporting wellbeing throughout working lives, not just when crisis strikes. Rainy Day Trust, the charity for everyone working in the UK’s home improvement and home enhancement sector, has today launched a new brand identity and website (www.
rainydaytrust.org.uk), marking the most significant evolution in over 180 years of the charity’s history, a move from crisis-only support to being at hand at every step of a working life. For nearly two centuries, Rainy
Day Trust has been the sector’s safety net, providing crisis grants to people working in DIY retail, builder’s merchants, housewares, garden centres and potteries when life is at its toughest. That safety net stays firmly in place. But Rainy Day Trust’s evolved mission goes further; preventing hardship, enabling early intervention, and providing vital support when crisis strikes. New services include trained Workplace Ambassadors embedding wellbeing in businesses across the sector, early careers and apprentice support, expanded debt advice, and access to a range of online counselling services to meet all needs – support designed to reach people earlier, before problems escalate. A new digital front door and an invitation to the industry
The new website gives Rainy Day
Trust a clear digital home for the three groups it serves: workers seeking confidential support, employers who want to invest in the wellbeing of their teams, and fundraisers who want to give back to their industry.
Rainy Day Trust is inviting businesses across the sector to get in touch. It is keen to build proactive, ongoing partnerships that matter. Partnerships that enable it to be there when it is needed, and before. Employers can start the conversation at
www.rainydaytrust.org.uk or by emailing
anna@rainydaytrust.org.uk. Anna Skeats, CEO of Rainy Day
Trust, said:
“This is a pivotal moment in our history of over 180 years. For generations we’ve been the safety net people reached for when crisis struck and we always will be. But too many people in our industry are struggling long before they reach that point, and their mental and physical health pays the price. Our new brand is a promise;
we will be there sooner, at hand from someone’s first day in the sector and at every step after it, helping our people live happier, healthier and more fulfilled lives. When our people thrive, our industry thrives.” Richard Drew, Chair of Rainy
Day Trust and Sales Lead, Trade Independent Merchants at AkzoNobel, said: “Rainy Day Trust has always been
there for our sector on its worst days. This evolution means it will be there for all the other days too. That’s good for our people and good for our businesses and I’d encourage every employer in the industry to be part of it.”
Why Rainy Day Trust’s shift
towards prevention matters It is in response to stark evidence that its sector is disproportionately affected by poor mental health and often poor physical health too. ONS analysis found that men in the lowest-skilled construction roles are 3.7 times more likely to die by suicide than the national average, whilst the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity reports that two construction workers take their own lives every working day in the UK. Research published by the Chartered Institute of Building in 2025 found that 28% of construction workers had experienced suicidal thoughts in the previous year. The picture is similar on the shop floor. The Retail Trust’s
18 DIY WEEK AUGUST 2026
Health of Retail report 2025 found 39% of retail workers blamed cost-of- living increases for a decline in their mental health.
Physical health carries a heavy
burden too, with the HSE reporting 79,000 construction workers suffering work-related ill health each year, over half of it musculoskeletal.
Sources for statistics 1. ONS, Suicide by occupation, England: 2011 to 2015 (published March 2017) male workers in low- skilled construction roles at 3.7 times the national average. ons.
gov.uk
2. Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity two construction workers take their own life every working day in the UK.
lighthouseclub.org
3. Chartered Institute of Building, Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment 2025 (May 2025) 28% of construction workers experienced suicidal thoughts in the past year.
ciob.org
4. Retail Trust, Health of Retail report 2025 (September 2025) 39% of retail workers
blamed cost-of-living
increases for a deterioration in their mental health.
retailtrust.org.uk
5. HSE, Construction statistics in Great Britain 2025 (November 2025) 79,000 workers suffering work-related ill health annually, 53% musculoskeletal.
hse.gov.uk/ statistics
www.diyweek.net
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