Our charity partnership with Shelter
As part of our commitment to help build a better world, we’re proud to work with Shelter, the leading housing and homelessness charity, because we believe everyone should have a safe and happy home.
Since launching our partnership with Shelter in 2017, our colleagues and customers have raised nearly £4 million for Shelter and their partner charities – Shelter Cymru, Housing Rights and Focus Ireland.
These donations fully fund Shelter’s DIY Skills Adviser Service and support frontline advice services, across the UK and Ireland, to support those who need it the most.
Shelter’s DIY Skills Advisers are helping thousands of people by ensuring they have the ability to build a house into a home, by sharing practical skills and support with home improvement tasks. The specialist teams work with communities in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Newcastle and Bristol to help transform houses into homes.
Watch our video below to find out more about our partnership with Shelter
Video transcript
John Hibbert, Head of Partnership Management, Shelter: We’ve been in partnership with B&Q since 2017 and since then we’ve raised millions and millions of pounds and supported thousands of people to feel more safe in their home. We’re two organisations that are really united by the common belief that everyone should have a home that they feel comfortable and safe in.
Paddy Earnshaw, Customer & Digital Director, B&Q: For Shelter, home is everything. In B&Q, we’re looking to help customers improve their homes to make life better and that unity is everything. A happy life comes from the foundation of having a really great home and not everyone is able to have that, so what makes this partnership so brilliant is that everyone is working together to try and improve homes across the UK.
John Hibbert: So DIY skills advisors work with clients who have just moved into a more stable home and help them to take control of their space.
Carys, DIY Skills Adviser, Shelter: My name’s Carys, I’m the DIY skills advisor in London. We really just help our clients turn what is just a house into really making it their own home. We can give them tools and materials that they need to continue with that across their home, and they usually end up just having like this new love for DIY from that one visit from us.
Krystalrose: When I first contacted Shelter I was living in emergency accommodation and I’ve just secured my permanent home with my daughter. I didn’t know how to make a home, and I couldn’t afford to. I feel like the most important thing is creating a healthy and comfortable space for my daughter, but when we started creating it and putting mummy’s mark on it, then I saw the difference in how she was, and her behaviour at home, you know.
John Hibbert: Well we’ve already achieved so much together, we’ve got a huge opportunity to reach so many people through our partnership with B&Q.
Paddy Earnshaw: Shelter is part of our family and it’s absolutely important that we do everything in our power to find new ways of bringing our colleagues and all of our Shelter colleagues together and ultimately do more to give people the help that they need to improve their homes.
To find out more visit shelter.org.uk
Video transcript
John Hibbert, Head of Partnership Management, Shelter: We’ve been in partnership with B&Q since 2017 and since then we’ve raised millions and millions of pounds and supported thousands of people to feel more safe in their home. We’re two organisations that are really united by the common belief that everyone should have a home that they feel comfortable and safe in.
Paddy Earnshaw, Customer & Digital Director, B&Q: For Shelter, home is everything. In B&Q, we’re looking to help customers improve their homes to make life better and that unity is everything. A happy life comes from the foundation of having a really great home and not everyone is able to have that, so what makes this partnership so brilliant is that everyone is working together to try and improve homes across the UK.
John Hibbert: So DIY skills advisors work with clients who have just moved into a more stable home and help them to take control of their space.
Carys, DIY Skills Adviser, Shelter: My name’s Carys, I’m the DIY skills advisor in London. We really just help our clients turn what is just a house into really making it their own home. We can give them tools and materials that they need to continue with that across their home, and they usually end up just having like this new love for DIY from that one visit from us.
Krystalrose: When I first contacted Shelter I was living in emergency accommodation and I’ve just secured my permanent home with my daughter. I didn’t know how to make a home, and I couldn’t afford to. I feel like the most important thing is creating a healthy and comfortable space for my daughter, but when we started creating it and putting mummy’s mark on it, then I saw the difference in how she was, and her behaviour at home, you know.
John Hibbert: Well we’ve already achieved so much together, we’ve got a huge opportunity to reach so many people through our partnership with B&Q.
Paddy Earnshaw: Shelter is part of our family and it’s absolutely important that we do everything in our power to find new ways of bringing our colleagues and all of our Shelter colleagues together and ultimately do more to give people the help that they need to improve their homes.
To find out more visit shelter.org.uk
How B&Q supports Shelter
Along with our customers and colleagues we support Shelter through product sales, donations, and fundraising events. Our colleagues have run marathons, danced for 24 hours, held bake sales and much more. As well as our fundraising, we support with volunteering and donations of products.
Fundraising weekends are held throughout the year in our 300 stores.
To find out more about Shelter’s work, visit their website www.shelter.org.uk.
Shelter is a registered charity operating in England and Scotland (Registered Charity Number 263710 England and Wales, SC002327 Scotland). They partner with Shelter Cymru in Wales (charity no. 515902), Housing Rights in Northern Ireland Rights (charity no. NIC 105735) and Focus Ireland in Ireland (CHY 7220).
