The Heated Blanket
Get yourself a heated blanket to keep yourself warm for your Great Tommy Sleep Out
All proceeds go towards our efforts in supporting veterans and those with disabilities.
The RBVE x Thales Heated Blanket
Award-winning solar blanket made by veterans and people with disabilities hits the shelves to help people facing homelessness
An innovative idea by a Scottish school pupil to help homeless people stay warm is now available to purchase, thanks to the work of veterans and people with disabilities employed at Royal British Veterans Enterprise’s (RBVE) social enterprise factories.
Inspired by seeing people sleeping rough on the streets of Glasgow, Rebecca Young, aged 13 at the time, designed a solar-powered heated blanket to help provide a reliable way to provide warmth.
The project’s impact gained Rebecca international recognition, being named as one of TIME Magazine’s ‘Girls of the Year’ in 2025.
Engineers at Thales in the UK developed the working prototype and an initial batch of blankets after Rebecca’s idea was shortlisted in the “If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ competition held by a partner of Thales, Primary Engineer, which attracted over 70,000 entries.
Thales
Every blanket sold will strengthen employment opportunities for veterans and people with disabilities within RBVE’s social enterprise.
Thales is a leading UK veteran employer, with over 900 veterans in its workforce. It is a partner of RBVE's social enterprise and its veteran colleagues have supported the charity's employability programme, Lifeworks. We are proud to partner with them on this new product.
We are very pleased that colleagues from Thales are also regular volunteers in our social enterprise.
The Great Tommy Sleep Out
Thales is a sponsor of RBVE's flagship fundraising campaign, The Great Tommy Sleep Out.
2027 will be the third year that teams at Thales have taken part in the Great Tommy Sleep Out. We are very pleased to work with on this new addition to the campaign.
An estimated 1 in 400 veterans in the UK is homeless. RBVE’s Great Tommy Sleep Out raises vital funds to help RBVE provide housing, community and employment opportunities to veterans facing homelessness.
The launch of the blankets coincides with the launch of registration for The Great Tommy Sleep Out 2027.
Fundraisers can purchase a solar-powered heated blanket to keep themselves warm.
“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.”
Lisa Farmer OBERBLI Chief Executive
“Our engineers were proud to help bring her idea to life as a working prototype, and we are delighted that, through our partnership with RBVE, it will now be manufactured at scale and reach the people who need it most. This is exactly the kind of collaboration that shows what technology employers can contribute beyond their core business, and we look forward to supporting RBVE’s vital work further.”
Phil SiveterCEO of Thales in the UK