Veterans and people with disabilities employed in RBVE’s social enterprise factories will be making the solar blankets at scale. The blankets will then be provided to homelessness charities to support their work with homeless individuals and families.

Rebecca Young, now 13, first designed the blanket as part of the UK Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal competition, which attracted more than 70,000 entries nationwide. Her concept, a heated blanket and powered by solar panels, was inspired by seeing people sleeping rough on the streets of Glasgow.

Following her win, engineers at Thales Group developed the design into a working prototype and manufactured an initial batch of blankets. Rebecca was later named one of TIME Magazine Girls of the Year 2025 in recognition of the project’s real-world impact.

RBVE will manufacture the blankets through its social enterprise operations in Kent. The charity also has factories in Erskine, Scotland and Leatherhead, Surrey which contribute £2.4 million through disability employment to the UK economy each year. More than 70% of its employees are veterans, living with disabilities, or both.

The announcement comes as RBVE’s annual nationwide campaign, the Great Tommy Sleep Out, gets underway this month. Participants spend a night outdoors in support of veterans facing homelessness across the UK.

RBVE has committed to a buy-one-donate-one model, pledging to donate one blanket to homelessness charities for every unit purchased.  

Lisa Farmer, chief executive of RBVE, said: “Rebecca’s initiative shows how practical innovation can respond to a real need. We are proud that veterans and people with disabilities in our social enterprises will now manufacture these solar blankets at scale to help tackle the homelessness crisis in the UK. 

“At RBVE, we create jobs, provide homes and build communities for veterans and people with disabilities. For many of our employees, homelessness has been part of their journey. This project reflects our long-standing commitment to support this community, and delivering more of Rebecca’s solar blankets will ensure many homelessness charities can continue providing their vital services.”

Rebecca Young, inventor of the solar blankets, said: “When I saw people sleeping outside, I wanted to design something that could help. I never imagined it would go this far. It’s amazing to see my invention being produced on a wider scale and I’m so pleased it will benefit so many people.”

The Scottish Housing News Charity Spotlight feature highlights the vital work of charities across Scotland each Friday. To include your local charity, whether housing-related or not, send your story and images to us at newsdesk@scottishnews.com.