If you are a parent or carer and are facing redundancy from Debenhams, our grants could help to cover the cost of essential items for your children.

Please read on for more information about our grants and how to apply.  

About our charity

Our grants help the children of UK fashion and textile employees who are struggling financially. It's why our charity was founded back in 1853.

Can you apply?

We might be able to help your family if:

• You are a parent or carer of a child (aged 0-18 years)
• AND you have been working for Debenhams for at least one year
• OR previously worked at Debenhams within the last nine years

ALL direct employees of Debenhams can apply no matter which department they work in as long as their salary is paid by Debenhams, e.g. the name of your payslip would say Debenhams.

Concession staff who are NOT paid by Debenhams, must work for a company related to clothing, footwear, soft furnishings, textiles or soft accessories, in order to apply.

If you work for a concession company which is not in any of these categories then we are sorry but you would not meet our criteria.

For example:

• We could accept applications from concession employees from clothing, soft accessories, footwear, soft furnishings brands such as Principles, Mulberry or Kurt Geiger.
  
  
• We couldn't accept applications from concession employees from food, beauty, jewellery or non fashion brands, such as Nespresso, Fossil, Estee Lauder or Benefit
  UNLESS the employer name listed on the wageslip is Debenhams.   

Please read on, to find out more about our grants. 

Other help available

There are lots of other charities who support people because of their employment type, e.g. beauty, hairdressing, hospitality and more. If you feel you don't meet our criteria, we suggest you use the brilliant Turn2Us grant search tool, to find other charities who might be able to help. 

How our grants can help your family

Our grants can fund essential items for your children such as school uniform and clothing for the year ahead, or essential household items. 

It doesn't matter where you work in the business, from store, to head office and distribution.  

You might want to apply for a grant if:

• You are already struggling financially (in arrears on your household bills or have debt)
  OR
• You have limited savings to cover your current and any future loss of earnings

What we fund

Our grants fund items which are essential for children's health and wellbeing. These might be items you were planning to buy, but now can't due to lost wages. 

These might include:

• Essential clothing, e.g. seasonal clothing and school uniform and PE kit
• Baby essentials, e.g. clothing or equipment
• Children's bedroom furniture, e.g. beds, bedding, clothes storage furniture (chest of drawers)
• Essential White Goods, e.g. replacing a broken appliance such as fridge/freezer, washing machine, cooker/oven.
• Specialist items for children with additional needs, e.g.sensory toys, adaptive clothing or SEN adapted computers

All items will be considered at the discretion of the grants team.

Depending on your situation, we also offer a number of grants programmes such as:

• Rehousing grants
• Kinship carers grants
• Therapy grants
• Specialist equipment grants
• Grants for when a parent is ill

What we can't fund

We're sorry but we can't fund household bills, food costs or replace lost income.

If you're struggling to cover the cost of household bills or food, find out what government support is available to replace lost income and help with bill costs .

By funding the other essential items your children need, we hope to free up money during this difficult time and give you one less thing to worry about.

If you need help with household bills, once you have made your enquiry we will signpost you to other charities who may be able to help with these.  

Make an enquiry

If you would like to apply for funding for any of the items listed above, the first step is to complete our online enquiry form. Click on the button below, to proceed to the next page. 

Make an enquiry  

When we found out the company was closing, it was like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my life. My son needed equipment for his college course and with no savings, I had no idea how I would afford it. Claire, Mum of Sam. Read Claire's story