Baby2Baby and beyond

Aim

A baby bank. Help us expand our project to support even more families experiencing financial hardship and associated adversity.

Baby2Baby collects donations of new and used baby clothing and essential items and redistributes them to families in need in East Sussex. Why are we crowdfunding? We've outgrown our storage space and need to raise money to fund our bigger and better space. This improved premises means we can continue to gift bundles of essential baby items to families in need.

About Baby2Baby

The Story so far...

Run by volunteers, Baby2Baby East Sussex was established in 2018 by two mums on maternity leave from Social Work and corporate careers (Hannah and Leila). The concept is simple; we collect donations of new and used baby clothing and essential items and redistribute them to families in need. The gifting of these items provides relief from financial hardship, and an immediate improvement to the environment of the family. In addition to this, and central to our vision for the service, is the importance of the feeling families experience when they receive our bundles. As such, we've put lots of thought into the presentation of our bundles; each one is carefully put together and includes a gift wrapped item, or reusable storage bags. We hope families feel they have received a gift from the community in their time of need, a gesture which can instil hope and improved wellbeing for families in the most challenging of circumstances.

Why are we Crowdfunding?

To date we've been collecting and donating clothing and items for babies aged 0-2 years. Our storage space to run this project from has been limited, meaning we have been unable to take on volunteers, and have had to be careful of how much we promote our project; we simply wouldn't be able to take in the amount of donations we would be offered, nor would we be able to respond effectively to the increased amount of referrals we would expect.

We have now found a suitable premises for Baby2Baby. It is low cost in comparison to the other facilities we have seen, and will provide a secure and suitable space to run a more effective service from. As well as benefiting from the increased storage space, we will be able to roll out our volunteer programme, have regular opening session times, and ultimately increase the amount of families we are able to reach. In addition we need to purchase equipment to keep our lovely donations organised, clean, safe and accessible for volunteers. This will include necessities like racking and plastic boxes.

We have secured the rent required for our first six months contract, but of course, want to be in a position to stay in this premises in six months time. Your support will mean we can do just that, ensuring the stability of the service and enabling us to continue to grow and reach more families who need support.

And we can still do more...

It is estimated there are over 26,000 children living in Poverty in East Sussex. Sometimes we receive referrals from professionals with requests for items for older children. Whilst we haven't been collecting these items regularly, we want to respond to each referral effectively, so have used social media to appeal for these items, always with a great response. As well as this, we have been collecting feedback on our service, which includes the question 'would it be of benefit to you and the families you work with if Baby2Baby extended its service to provide items and clothing for older children?' Every professional who has provided feedback, has confirmed there is a definite need for families with older children. With a new premises in place and a clear need for a further expanded service, we want to extend our age range to include taking regular stock of clothing and items for older children. This will incur an additional running cost for us, as we will need more storage equipment and packaging for the increase in referrals we will receive.

This is a big and exciting step for us. With all we have achieved with just two of us running the project day-to-day, just imagine how many families we can go on to support with appropriate premises, and an increased community of volunteers.

Thank you for supporting us,

Hannah and Leila x

Our Impact

Since June 2018 we've helped more than 80 families, gifting them essential baby items to make their immediate circumstances more manageable, and in doing this, have recognised them as being worthy of kindness and support from those around them. The long term impact of providing hope and relief to families experiencing hardship shouldn't be undervalued.

We've supported families experiencing low income, homelessness (or risk of), mental health issues, domestic abuse, substance misuse, as well as care leavers, single parents, young parents, migrants, asylum seekers, and women who have been trafficked. Many of these families are isolated and vulnerable and we are hugely grateful to those who choose to donate to our cause for 'seeing' these families, for thinking of them, and for showing kindness at a time they need it most.

How it works

We collect donations of baby clothing and essential items from local families and individuals.

These donations are quality and safety checked before being sorted and stored.

We take referrals from professional partners including Health Visitors, Children's Centre Keyworkers, Social Workers, Foodbanks, and Refuges on behalf of the families they support.

Bundles are put together specific to the needs of the family.

The professional who made the referral collects the bundle and gives it to the family.

There is no cost attached to this service for the professional who refers, or the family who receive the bundle.

A family can be referred as many times as needed as their baby develops and needs change.

What do people say about Baby2Baby?

‘I just wanted to let you know what a massive difference the buggy has made to this family. Mum is now able to take the youngest children out without [child] becoming upset. It meets the children’s needs so much better… Mum now enjoys taking them out, and this in turn has led to her mood improving. So Mum has asked me to thank you all again for your kindness and to let you know just what a difference you have made to her life’ (Feedback from a referral partner).

‘The family was overwhelmed and extremely happy, grateful and relieved. They said it reduced their stress in preparing for the arrival of their new baby. You provide a wonderful service which doesn’t feel like ‘charity’ to the families, but rather a provision of beautiful gifts which are desperately needed’ (Feedback from a referral partner).

‘It’s just so nice to have people just help me without any judgements’ (Feedback from a Mum who received a Baby2Baby bundle).

This project successfully funded on 15th April 2019