Keeping Dundee's Bairns Cosy

Aim

Keeping Dundee's Bairns Cosy this winter and challenging the Cost of Living Crisis

Who we are

Dundee Bairns is a small charity, working in Dundee City to challenge poverty and inequality for children by providing access to basic things such as food, clothing and activities to help close the attainment gap and to allow all children to live as well as they can. We have been constituted since 2017, and work really hard to grow and develop in order to meet the needs of children in Dundee flexibly and with compassion.

What we do

It is a sad fact that 1/3 children in Dundee currently live below the poverty line, and we want to make a real and tangible difference for those children experiencing multiple deprivation and financial barriers.

Dundee Bairns runs a series of programmes; tackling food inequality in the school holidays through our Fun and Food Programme, helping children access activities and nurturing talent with our Fabiola Fund, supporting local community projects to help families and children through a Small Grants scheme, tackling after-school hunger with our Tea Club project and delivering key strategic services in partnership with local council and other organisations.

Keeping Bairns Cosy

Cosy Bairns is a project by Dundee Bairns which began at the tail end of 2020, when children were asked to sit in ventilated classrooms and spend more time doing outdoor learning due to Covid safety measures.

It was a real challenge for many families to provide sufficient, seasonally appropriate clothing, especially at a time of year when finances are already under strain.

Volunteers load the van with cosy clothes for kids

During the winter of 202/21, we provided 3,000 children with physical clothing packs which contained all of the basic essentials they might need for the school day; wellies, trainers, a hoodie, socks, coat, gloves, hat and underwear. 

Feedback from parents, teachers and even the children themselves was amazing:

"I loved my new hat - I love wearing it in class...my friends got one too and it helps keep us warm in the classroom" J.G, aged 9

"I just want to thank you so much for the pack of clothes for my wee girl.  It's really helped us.  She was able to go out and play in the snow today and I didn't have to worry about her getting cold or soaked through. Usually I'd panic that we don't have spare shoes or a coat for her." - A.W, parent of girl aged 6

"One parent told us it was great because it helped them keep warm at home.  Having the option to layer up with extra jumpers and having such a cosy coat means they can last another hour or two without the heating on" K.M, School Family Development Worker

Read our full Cosy Bairns report here:

https://dundeebairns.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Cosy-Bairns-Final-Report.pdf

Moving on

While providing physical clothing for 3,000 children was a huge achievement and much needed at a time when clothing shops were closed due to the Covid pandemic, it was a massive task, and one which came with the need for a lot of extra resources such as extra hands, space and logistics, all of which presented a massive challenege for our small charity.

We are always mindful of dignity too - and the idea of a system which allowed children to be able to choose their own clothing was certainly appealing.

A discrete referral pathway was borne, and the next phase of Cosy Bairns saw Dundee Bairns taking referrals from the city council's Welfare Rights Team via a Fuel Well scheme, where we offered clothing vouchers to a further 2,000 children over the course of the next two years.

Cosy today, Cosy tomorrow

Cosy Bairns carries on today as an online referral pathway which can be accessed by professionals working directly with families, who can identify the need for access to basic support with clothing.

  A family can be referred to Cosy Bairns by Teachers, Social Workers, Health Visitors, Community Workers, Librarians, Support Workers, School Family Development Workers, Guidance Staff, Midwives, Doctors, or anyone working directly with the family.

Clothing vouchers of £50 are gifted for each individual child referred and are given directly to the professional, who will in turn give them to the family.  The vouchers can then be presented at the cash desk by the family, who can choose their own clothing and spend the voucher in their own time. Children can be referred once every three months.

2022, Cost of Living, Cost of Survival

We know that this winter poses one of the biggest challenges ever for all.  The rise in fuel prices, coupled with increased mortgage rates, the cost of food and other essentials, as well as the increased cost of living across the board is posing a real challenge for everyone.

There will be many who were just coping before who will find themselves in need of support, and many who will have to make some really dire choices in the next few months in order to survive.

We stand shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues in the third sector as we look to find a way to tackle this in the best way possible, and we hope to widen our referral pathway to more professionals, and to continue our Cosy Bairns project as a fundamental tool in helping to keep bairns cosy this winter; whether they are at home or at school.

We will strongly encourage referrals from our community partners to ensure that every child who needs our support can access it, and can access a warm coat, cosy blanket and warm jumper in a dignified and compassionate way.

Please, help us to help Dundee's Bairns.

Let's make sure that every Bairn stays cosy this winter.

This project successfully funded on 11th January 2023