This Baby Bank Is Saving An Entire Generation Of Children. Now It Needs Your Help
You might associate baby banks with the tiniest members of society. But in reality, these donation centres are a lifeline for parents and their toddlers and school-age children, too.
And right now, Little Village – a network of baby banks in London – is running desperately low on essentials for older kids.
Sara*, whose children are two and seven years old, lives in Battersea, London. She came to the UK in 2019 after fleeing her husband’s country which was in economic turmoil.
The family were struggling financially as they found their feet, so they called Citizens Advice which signposted them to the baby bank.
“Children grow out of their clothes so quickly and you always need clothes for different seasons, but the cost of them is just crippling for someone in my position,” Sara told HuffPost UK.
“I got a call one day from someone at Little Village who has become a very special person to me. For the first time it felt like someone was looking out for me and I never felt judged, like I was failing as a parent.
“She felt like my friend even though we’d never met.”
Sara explained that she wasn’t able to buy clothes when her children needed them because she would need to save up enough money first, “which can take some weeks or months”.
She is working, so is able to cover food and basic expenses for her family, but acquiring bigger ticket items like clothing and nursery furniture for her children has been a real struggle.
Little Village was able to gift her a cot, baby clothes, toys, a coat, nappies and toiletries. “My favourite was the coat which was so lovely,” she said.
“It was a nice, quite expensive brand and not something that looked like people were just throwing away. I didn’t feel shy or embarrassed about the things I was now able to dress my children in. I felt proud of what we had.”
Kiera has two children and lives in south London. She had her first daughter at 21 and has struggled financially, especially as the cost of living has soared.
“Things have been really tough, financially and emotionally,” she said.
“I’ve had to cut back on meals for myself and only spend the money that I have to get the ingredients that make the specific meals my daughter has.”
She’s also had to ration essentials like toilet paper and milk.
Things have been really tough, financially and emotionally,"Kiera
She’s not alone. A survey of families supported by the baby bank revealed nearly half of parents (45%) are skipping meals so their children can eat and one-third (34%) keep the heating off to save on expensive energy bills.
One quarter are rationing nappies and one in 10 are resorting to watering down formula milk to make it last longer.
The mum-of-two has been helped by Little Village three or four times now and described them as a “lifeline”.
She said when she had her first child, she didn’t know what she needed for her little one: “I didn’t have anything for my first baby so when I got my first gift it was amazing as I received this big box of newborn clothes and toys, muslins, socks, books, a lovely baby bath, mittens, baby hats and an amazing cot with a new mattress.”
She added: “The people who pack the bundles for mums like me put in such a lot of thought about what you need. All of the things I received were perfect and exactly what I wanted.”
While the baby bank has helped thousands of babies, children and their parents over the years, it is now calling for help as it has almost run out of a wide range of items for children aged 3-6 years old.
And with a projected 250,000 people (including 50,000 children) projected to be pushed into poverty as a result of recent welfare reforms, demand is surely only going to grow.
A spokesperson for the charity told HuffPost UK they urgently need more:
- Jumpers and long-sleeved tops (aged 3-6 years old)
- T-shirts (aged 3-6 years old)
- Pyjamas (aged 3-6 years old)
- Trousers and joggers (aged 3-6 years old)
- Dresses (aged 3-6 years old)
- Shoes (sizes 5-12)
- Pants, socks and tights (aged 3-6 years old).
The baby bank prides itself on providing clothes and shoes that are like new, so is asking for donations of great quality pre-loved items. You can find out how to donate items or learn about volunteering opportunities here.
Sara said of the volunteer who supported her: “She was like an angel and just showed me that there are people out there who really care about other people’s lives when they’ve hit tough times ... it just made me feel so much better.”
*Some names have been changed.