Debenhams participated in a Help for Heroes campaign by featuring “live” mannequins in its window displays – including veteran amputees and fashion influencers.
Debenhams has supported the charity for five years and since then it has managed to raised a sum of over £2.3 million.
The retailer’s Market Street store in Manchester recently participated in the charity’s new ’40,000 Strong’ campaign to help build awareness on the number of armed forces personnel who have been medically discharged in the past 20 years.
The live mannequins included five veterans and family members who have been supported by Help for Heroes, posing alongside Manchester fashion and lifestyle influencers.
These include fashion blogger Domain Esdale and Craig Monaghan, a rugby player in the Sale Sharks and England Deaf Rugby teams.
Meanwhile the veteran model team featured triple amputee Dave Watson who lost both legs and an arm when he stepped on a hidden bomb in Afghanistan in 2010.
Other veteran models included John Murphy who was medically discharged from the army after suffering a back injury and his wife Laura, and Lee Patmore who was forced to leave the Royal Navy.
Kieran Woo, who has a traumatic brain injury after being involved in a car crash and Charley Tysler, who was medically discharged from the Royal Navy after suffering a knee injury during training, also took part.
The men modelled items from Debenhams’ new range of five Help for Heroes t-shirts, priced at £16.00.
The women were wearing the first women’s fashion products created for Help for Heroes by Debenhams, including corduroy dresses available for £39.00.
“The new Help for Heroes campaign has an important message and by having veterans and influencers in the window we created a real buzz around it in an impactful way,” Debenhams Manchester store manager Debbie Whiting said.
“By showing off the cool t-shirts and dresses that raise money for Help for Heroes we hope to sell a lot more so that we can help even more Servicemen and women and their families.”
All the profits from Debenhams’ Help for Heroes fashion products went directly to the charity.
Help for Heroes’ ‘40,000 Strong’ campaign aims to highlight research that shows 70 per cent of veterans who went through the medical discharge process had a negative experience.
The charity is urging the government to review the process and ensure that everyone who goes through medical discharge has the right support they need to ensure a positive transition back into society.
“We are very grateful to Debenhams for the great support of their staff and customers since 2014 in raising such a fantastic amount,” Help for Heroes chief executive Mel Waters said.
“We are delighted with the way in which they have embraced our 40,000 Strong campaign and it’s been great to see our live mannequins really turning heads.”
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