National bed retailer Dreams is marking World Homeless Day on 10 October with a product-led promotion to raise vital money to support those who don’t have a safe and secure place to call home.
The campaign, to “help make a safe night’s sleep a reality” is part of Dreams’ three-year partnership with the housing and homelessness charity, Shelter.
Dreams will pay £5 to Shelter for every transaction made both online and in-store, from Thursday 10 October to Sunday 13 October. This promotion applies to purchases of any value and will be used to fund Shelter’s emergency helpline that supports people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
There are now a record 117,450 households living in temporary accommodation in England, a type of housing provided by the council when a person or household becomes homeless. Temporary accommodation is not designed for permanent living, but the lack of safe, secure and affordable homes means families are often trapped there for long periods. There’s also a record 151,630 children homeless and living in temporary accommodation, a shocking increase of 15% over the last year.
Money given by Dreams from this World Homeless Day activity will be added to the over £238,000 already raised for Shelter, far surpassing the £150,000 fundraising target set for the three-year partnership. Dreams colleagues will be marking October as colleague fundraising month where they will be running, baking, sleeping out, quizzing and much more, to raise vital funds.
The partnership between Dreams and Shelter, which was announced in February 2023, is rooted in their shared belief that having a safe home with a bed of your own should be a fundamental human right, and is part of the retailer’s strategic pillar, focused on growing its impact as a Force for Good.
Jonathan Hirst, Dreams’ CEO, said: “Almost two years on from the launch of our partnership with Dreams, we’re still driven by the belief that everyone should have a home with a bed to call their own. That’s why, this World Homeless Day, we’re enabling our customers to shop our quality products with the great service they know, while helping to make a safe night’s sleep a reality. Every purchase supports our joint efforts to address homelessness in a practical and sustainable way”
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Every day our frontline services see the devastating impact of the housing emergency, from families stuck in cramped and grotty temporary accommodation for years on end, to renters struggling to keep hold of their homes due to skyrocketing rents.
“With homelessness levels at an all-time high, Shelter’s work to fight the housing emergency is more important than ever. We simply couldn’t do this work without the support of our amazing partners like Dreams and their customers. Every purchase made this weekend helps us to be there for people who don’t have a place to call home.”
