How our Personal Support Grants are helping

Personal Support Grant applications from March to May are 17 times higher than the same period last year.

We are providing Personal Support Grants to employees and sole traders working in the UK furnishing industry to help mitigate against the loss of earnings people are experiencing as a result of being furloughed, made redundant, unable to work or a diminished order book.

Here are couple of the people we have helped through this difficult time.

Jennifer’s story

Jennifer had worked for a bedding manufacturer for five years before being made redundant at the start of lockdown.

She was able to apply for Universal Credit but the payments barely covered her rent and bills. To make matters worse, her two children had grown out of their school uniforms and she was unable to put any money aside each month to foot the bill.

Jennifer had heard about The Furniture Makers’ Company through her previous employer and decided to reach out for support.

We were able to award her a two-month Personal Support Grant and help relieve some of the stress she is experiencing.

She said: “Thank you so much for your generosity and understanding. It’s not easy to have to ask for help when I’m used to being so independent. You’ve made me feel so comfortable in doing so and it really means a lot to me.”

Claire’s story

Claire works as a barista for an in-house café at a furniture brand’s flagship store. Since being furloughed, she has struggled to meet her monthly outgoings and has had to borrow money from family members to make ends meet.

She reached out to The Furniture Makers’ Company after hearing about us through her HR department and was pleased to hear that we could award her a monthly grant of £200.

Claire said: “During these unexpected and hard times we realise how important it is to have an organisation that stands up and has our backs. As soon as I heard about the grant, I applied, and luckily in two days I got it. It was super helpful and thanks to it I could pay my rent and basic things. I would recommend it to anyone struggling right now.”