Fabulous calls on YOU to join our Baby, Bank On Us campaign to help young families during the cost-of-living crisis

YOUNG families have been among the hardest hit by the cost- of-living crisis.

So Fabulous is launch­ing a major new campaign — Baby, Bank On Us — to help thousands of parents with babies and small children.

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With the help of YOU, our amazing readers, we want to give children’s clothes, nappies, cots and toys to those who need them most.

Our campaign will provide help for the country’s 200 baby banks, which are community centres providing essentials for babies and children up to around five.

They are run from shops, living rooms and garages across the UK.
Demand for their services has doubled since the start of the pandemic.

But baby banks are not financed by the Government.

They are funded by donations and run by committed volunteers — and they are in dire need of both.

So we are calling on Fabulous readers to join our campaign, run in partnership with charities Save The Children and Little Village. You can help by giving:

TIME: Baby banks desperately need volunteers to help with everything from sorting clothes and driving delivery vans to working with families. You can give as little as an hour a week of your time.

DONATIONS: From shoes, coats and summer hats to pushchairs and toddler beds, baby banks urgently need to keep their shelves and clothing rails well-stocked.

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MONEY: Any cash you can spare will help a baby bank buy essential supplies or even rent new space to act as a hub for goods.

Exclusive research by Fabulous reveals that 15 per cent of mums now rely on baby banks for essentials.

This includes those who have been made redundant or who have had family breakdowns.

It costs on average £675 a year to feed a child aged 0-3, and £1,107 a year to clothe them.

Baby banks such as Little Village, which supports families across London, provide each family (referred by GPs, social workers and healthcare professionals) with a bundle of essentials in a New Baby bundle worth up to £1,000.

It includes ten baby­grows, five vests, three cardigans, cot sheets and muslins as well as feeding equipment, nappies, wipes and a Moses basket and buggy if needed.

Paige Crimp, 23, and partner Daniel Baldwin, 22, do not know where they would be without their local Little Village baby bank in Tooting, South London.

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The couple, who have one-year-old son George — who is playing with a dinosaur puzzle he has been given when we visit — hail it as their “beacon of hope”.

Daniel recently lost his job as a carer in a nursery and Paige has battled ill health.

The couple say volunteers at the centre helped them get back on their feet.

Paige said: “Baby banks can literally save the lives of young families feeling des­perate.”

The Tooting baby bank looks like a high-end children’s store.

Rails of clothing and neatly stacked piles of vests, socks and trousers have been donated by caring families.

They also stock new clothing donated by shops and pram jackets and jumpers made by knitting groups.

Donating your child’s hand-me-downs is good for the planet, too.

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Every year 8.5million toys and more than 183million items of kids’ clothing are sent to landfill.

But most of those things could be given a second — or third or fourth — lease of life.

Back at the Tooting bank Paige says: “I was nervous about coming, but they made me feel very comfortable here.

“The first time, we left with the buggy completely full. We got clothes, toys, a papoose, cot sheets and much more.

"This has been a beacon of hope. It’s lovely, and it is like being a kid in a sweet shop for George. We come every three months for whatever is needed, as kids grow very quickly.

“It’s very colourful and very welcoming. It’s a happy place to bring him.”

At the Little Village in Camden, North London, a mum-to-be is given a tiny jacket from a rail bulging with floral puddle suits, as her partner picks a pair of sunshine yellow wellies for their toddler son.

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Little Village CEO Sophie Livingstone, 46, who has two children, aged nine and five, says: “Baby banks are a very sensible way of passing on used baby stuff that you know will go to a good home.

“Any parent knows how quickly kids grow out of clothes, and that lofts fill up with clutter. Clothes that are no longer needed could be used elsewhere.

“To Fabulous readers I would say, clear out your cupboards and volunteer or donate what you can financially.

“Volunteering at baby banks is a really lovely, life-affirming thing to do.

"This campaign is important because we need money, volunteers and donations to keep going.”

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One volunteer in Tooting is Tawakalitu, from Wandsworth in South West London.

She lost her NHS job when she was seven months pregnant and although her husband was still working, also for the NHS, the couple were unable to buy the basics for their imminent arrival.

Cuddling her seven-month-old daughter, Tawakalitu, 42, says: “I lost my job, was destitute and completely stuck. I had no idea what to expect when I was referred to the bank by a food bank.

“I was anxious, but they were welcoming and made me feel able to be open about what I needed.

“Walking through the door I felt relaxed and knew this would be a lifesaver. It was a huge relief.

“I eventually got my job back and wanted to pay back the baby bank, so I volunteered and will continue to do so. I owe them so much.

“I’ve now met families who, like I was, are in need.

“I met a family who had to flee their home in Ukraine and that hit me hard.

“Their poor daughter, aged four, had abandoned everything she knew, but the volunteers gave her beautiful toys and books and she finally left happy. My heart went out to her and my eyes were filled with tears.”

There are an estimated 2,000 volunteers making up the backbone of the baby banks, and CEO Sophie thinks they need 500 more.

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Emilie de Bruijn, who runs the Hartlepool baby bank, County Durham, says: “I am so proud of the community we’ve created.

“Families trust us, and when they come in and share their lives, it’s such a privilege.

“Sometimes, people who we’ve helped in the past come in to show us pictures of their children and to thank us.

“Last Christmas, a lady we helped donated £40 as she’d started working and saved up.

The baby bank’s main aim is to provide some joy in people’s lives. If they can leave with a smile, I’ve done my job.

“Baby banks across the ­country are not currently joined up, so our campaign is supporting the creation of a UK network, to ensure the right help gets exactly where it is needed.”

Leona Lewis had her first baby, daughter Carmel Allegra, last July.

The X Factor winner, 38, says: “Becoming a mother is life-changing and can be made all the more challenging if you can’t provide the basics for your baby.

“It breaks my heart that there are parents unable to afford nappies or give children a safe place to sleep.

“It’s hugely important that we help those families in need, that’s why I’m so proud to be Fabulous’ Baby, Bank On Us ambassador.”

Emma Gibbs, 40, who has worked in Little Village baby banks for four years, says: “At a baby bank it is the little things that matter.

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“That is why anything Fabulous readers can give will mean the absolute world.”

Between us there is something every single Fabulous reader can do to help — so let’s join forces and get the baby banks banking on us.

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