In the run-up to BBC Children in Need’s Appeal Week 2026, Pudsey challenged the DFS Group to make 200 sofas for their Emergency Essentials programme which supports families living in furniture poverty. Last year, 28,000 children received help with essential home items such as sofas, beds, white goods and more.
Our teams rallied behind the challenge, making the sofas in our Doncaster-based factory and delivering them to Emergency Essentials, ready to be put into family homes. Emergency Essentials work with professional referrers in the community to connect families in need of support. We’re really proud of the challenge as a perfect example of our new Group Purpose in action; furnishing better lives, together.
Feedback from a referrer to the BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials programme:
“As a Community Worker, I assist people living in social and economic deprived areas and am based at a busy GP Practice. Your fantastic support has assisted a family who fled domestic abuse and went through the homeless route and are now living in a secure tenancy. They had a small second-hand sofa and could not sit together as a family. Your new sofa has made such a difference to them – they are planning movie nights and are so happy to get a brand new sofa. It is so nice to be able to assist a family with such a practical item and I know, from experience of working in social care for many years, that these opportunities are very rare. Thank you so much.”
