Feedback

Thank you so much for the beautiful bags which you made up for the families I work with.  Your kindness, hard work and generosity is really appreciated, not just at Christmas but throughout the year.

I have delivered one of the bags to a family and I wish that you could have seen the mother’s face, it totally lit up!

I will be delivering to another family today and I know that it will be very gratefully received.
(Family Practitioner)

Can I just say a BIG THANK YOU.

It is amazing what you have provided today for my Young Lady who has been given the keys to her flat today. You have made her day. Thank you so much for going above and beyond and especially thank you for including the stair gate I didn’t even ask for!

She now has a bed for her little one and highchair and the clothes are amazing. She is really chuffed with the coat he can wear to school. I left her with a big smile on her face thanks to you.
(Personal Advisor)

Just need to say a big thank you to all of you wonderful ladies at the Baby Bank. The Family's that I took the deliveries to today were both quite overwhelmed with the generosity of people and the lovely items. The cot was a beaut wasn't it.

You do an amazing job, thank you for making our job all the more rewarding too. It's so good to be able to offer something tangible.
Also the process of referring to Baby Bank and the logistics of pick up etc, you have made as easy as possible for us.

We appreciate you
(Family Practitioner)

I dropped off the 3 parcels I collected from you today. Wow!!!! I wish I could have filmed the responses. Especially for the pram!!!! There were alot of happy tears and heartfelt thank yous.

You will never know the positive impact you have on such families, who without your support would feel as though they are failing before baby even arrives. Because of your dedicated team and generous donators these families can prepare for their babies without worry.

So a massive thank you and well done for all of your hard work.
(Family Practitioner)

Thank you so much, I didn’t think I would be able to get anything this year for my older son as we have just moved house. I told him his Christmas would be postponed for now. The fact I can give him something now is amazing
(A Parent)

I wonder if there might be a stereotypical person you might feel needs to use the baby bank? You would be wrong. That is the beauty of the baby bank for us referrers, if you need the baby bank then it is there for you. There is absolutely no cost, you can have as much as you need, the turn around is super quick so the things that are needed are there quicker than it would be to order it in a catalogue.

The referral process is simple and easy and because the Baby Bank make it so and because the referrers pick up the clothes and equipment and deliver it to families themselves – there is no ‘shame’ associated with asking for the things you really need.

What impact does the baby bank have on my families?

It provides babies and small children with somewhere safe to sleep, their own blankets, warm clothes, toys and even new mums with toiletries to take into hospital if needed.

It reduces poverty and indebtedness because families who might be tempted to take out a doorstep loan or an additional catalogue debt to buy things for their newest members don’t have to do this, it’s all provided, straight to the door.

Having access to expensive pieces of equipment such as stair gates and baby monitors help keep babies safe. Having enough nappies and wipes, so families don’t feel they have to ration them, together with a bath, toiletries and creams, keep baby healthy.

For parents who would prefer to be more environmentally friendly, they baby bank offers cloth alternatives and dressing babies in clothes that might otherwise have ended up in landfill is a very green thing to do. I also believe that being able to have lovely things for their children improves parental mental health.

Families who have a gap between babies, who have passed on their baby things only to find out that they are pregnant again know that a third child invariably means no additional benefits and huge financial burden, particularly on low income families.

Whilst it might be argued that they can buy clothing at charity shops, it is often difficult to buy baby furniture for cheap and there is no guarantee if you buy second hand, pre-loved off a marketplace that they are going to be safe.

All equipment given by the baby bank is checked and safe by a dedicated team of people giving up their time for free and all cots are gifted with new clean mattresses from their mattress sponsors.

Whilst it might be easy to measure the financial impact the baby bank has on families, it is the emotional impact that is vitally important, so I leave you with this – the little girl running around her home with her brand new coat, the tiny baby going out in his pram for the time, the fourth child who has his own blanket….

But for me it is that mother whose child is settled safely in her first nursery, who has just taken her five year old to school in a clean uniform with smart shoes.

She gets home, looks around and feels that after a lifetime of servitude and fear at the hands of her partner, her kids are now safe and she has for the first time in a long time a sliver of hope.
(Children’s link worker)

I have just had a bit of a moment over the facebook page - these people that give really have no idea. Do you know what I hear time and time again when I get to deliver and see the difference that these donations make - and how beautiful they look as well. The quote I here time and time again….

'nothing, good like this happens to me, I feel like I have won the lottery'. I don't know what I would do without you (I say its not me its the baby bank).

I know I keep saying thank you - but thank you really isn't enough.

I can go into people's homes and I can help them get the right benefits, I can talk to housing, I can get debt off their backs, I can talk to food banks and sometimes I can get them fuel. But the biggest difference to these families are making sure that their kids have got a warm coat, clean clothes, and having a stroller so you can leave the house safely.