North Staffordshire charity receive £350k of National Lottery Funding

A North Staffordshire charity - who work to end furniture poverty - are set to increase their services, as well as create employment opportunities after being awarded just under £350,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund.

Emmaus North Staffs support around 850 local households each year by supplying furniture items to those who cannot afford them.

In 2022 the charity - who relocated to a huge megastore in Hanley last year - also launched their Beds For Kids campaign after seeing an increase in demand from families struggling to provide basic essentials for the home.

Since the campaign launch more than 400 bed bundles comprising of a new bed, mattress and bedding have been provided to local families.

Now, with the recent award of the £349,350 funding, which will run over three years, Emmaus North Staffs are aiming to provide 900 more bed bundles, 300 new items of furniture and 900 items of reusable furniture over that period.

John Webbe, Executive Lead for Emmaus North Staffs, said: “To receive the funding from the National Lottery Community Fund is brilliant for us as a charity - we have never received anything like this before.

“It is going to make a real difference and means we can inject more resource and time into the support we provide in North Staffordshire - including our vital Beds for Kids campaign.

“When we provide families with home essentials whether that be a settee or chair, or a brand-new bed bundle for children via our Beds For Kids campaign - it has such an impact and really helps others to live more comfortably. A home without furniture is really just a shell, and we help to provide those basic comforts where we can.”

To add to the support, plans are also underway to introduce a dedicated crisis support team to work with local families who will provide monthly workshops to support, educate and advise on household budgets and debt resolution.

“One thing we have always wanted to do is increase our services and to have our own in-house crisis support team will make such a difference to the charity,” says John.

“The team will be on hand to help and signpost residents where required on all aspects of running a home. We aim to engage 2,000 people and provide in depth assistance to 600.

“We anticipate supporting around 2,250 families or households, which equates to approximately 9,000 individuals in three years.

“We are also going to be introducing an impact measurement system to monitor and evaluate project outcomes and impacts which will also help us to improve on our services in moving forward - we could not have done any of this without the National Lottery Community Fund award.”

Emmaus North Staffs are located in the former GO Outdoors building in New Hall Street, Hanley. The shop, which stocks all household furniture items as well as clothing and white goods, is open to the public six days a week. All funds and donations support the charity’s work.

For more information please visit https://emmaus.org.uk/north-staffs/ and find the charity on Facebook here @emmausnorthstaffs