From One Family to Another

Aim

Help without the hassle. Enabling communities to do the important work of improving lives without all the hassle of running a charity.

Some families have a lot of stuff they have loved and used whilst their children are growing up - from cots, to baby clothes to bikes to school shoes - and some families struggle to provide even the basics for their children. In all communities you will find both, all that is needed is a way to get this stuff to the right people. There are 4.1 million children living in poverty in the UK, and we can do some things to practically help their parents and support the professionals working on the long term causes of poverty.

This is where From One Family to Another comes in. Based on the concept developed and established by Emma Cantrell at First Days Children's Charity, founded in 2012 from her kitchen table: From One Family to Another is a network - distributing and redistributing 'stuff' to families in need. The solid grounding - and tonnes of lessons learned at First Days - means that From One Family to Another are uniquely positioned to offer excellent business support, advice and guidance to people who want to do good in their community - taking all the hassle out of running a charity and allowing people to focus on the important work of improving lives. 

Local people, with a desire to help their community (there are way more people out there like this than the media would have you believe), get together to raise funds and build relationships with people working with families living in poverty or finding themselves in need of practical help. They fundraise for their local branch (as small as cake sales or as big as opening their own charity shop) and collect and redistribute goods to families in need. From One Family to Another provides these local groups with all the resources they need - the operating framework, accounting and finance, policies, resources and, crucially, support to run their local branch, or develop a charity or organisation that is already doing this work but is struggling to become sustainable. 

Much like the Trussel Trust, or the NCT, From One Family to Another empowers and develops local branches to run their project in a responsive way to the needs of their community, making a lasting difference in the lives of families.

Essentially, a group of people who want to help others get together and with our help, support and guidance, work out how they can start redistributing goods to poeple who need it - without any of the legal, financial or operational baggage that comes with running a charity. 

Our work in Berkshire, with First Days Children's Charity, has helped thousands of families and has become a vital resource for professionals working with families. If there is a need in Berkshire there is a need - a far greater need - in other areas of the UK. 

From One Family to Another needs investment to kick start growth. We will be funded sustainably via subscriptions and fees from our members and investment from other funds in the long term, however, we need this funding now to be able to prove our worth by setting up successful pilot branches in other areas, helping thousands more families. 

This project successfully funded on 15th May 2018