Why baby banks are needed more than ever

Tell us about the work Baby Basics does.

Baby Basics was established in 2009 to support vulnerable families with the essentials they need for children from pre-birth to five years old. Since the pandemic in 2019 and the subsequent cost of living crisis the need for our work has grown to another level. We are a highly respected and trusted partner for health and social care professionals, both from statutory services and the voluntary and community sector, who refer families to us for support.

Who do you support?

Many of the families we support are struggling to find work that fits with family life or are working families on low incomes and just can’t manage to make ends meet. Many families who have accessed our services over the last few years have had to for the first time and it was a position they never thought they would find themselves in.

When you have a child, you never ask to be in a position that you can’t provide for them, but situations out of their control such as a rise in the cost of living, unemployment, domestic abuse, seeking asylum or low wages make life with their families a constant struggle.

We believe in empowering these families by helping relieve the stress and anxiety of how they are going to provide, to enabling them to flee domestic violence and raise their children in a safer environment.

Provisions of clothing, nappies, toys, a safe place to sleep and toiletries for the whole family means they can prioritise what little they have on housing costs, food or a winter coat.

But we couldn’t provide for the thousands of children and families we support without the committed help of the public, our corporate supporters and our funders. Donations of new and quality second-hand goods allows us to bless these families with items that show them they are valued, loved and that just because they are struggling it does not mean they do not deserve the best we can give them.

How has the pandemic impacted the support Baby Basic gives?

The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis in the UK,  brought to the forefront the needs of many people in the UK, not least those with new babies and toddlers.

In 2023 we supported over 40,000 children and their families. Our inaugural centre in Sheffield at the height of the pandemic was working with a 400% increase in referrals and these have not subsided.

Sadly we are not seeing the cost of living crisis dissipate in the way we had all hoped instead we are continuing to see more and more families needing support. In 2023 1 in 120 babies born in the UK needed a Moses basket from one of our centres Image

How can people get involved in helping the charity?

The UK is much more aware of food banks and the increase in need they have seen, with many more people needing to access these services to feed themselves and their families.

If you are reading this and feel inspired to help even just one family, please get in touch with your local Baby Basics centre or with Baby Basics UK. Or, with Silver Cross’ stroller donation scheme, you can donate a used pram to Baby Basics in support of families who do not have the funds to buy one.

Every item of clothing, cot, toy, stroller and pack of nappies given, every penny donated, every hour spent volunteering, makes such a difference to the lives of so many families. If we all do our part, we truly can make life a little better for families in our community.

This year the Silver Cross team have launched the Giving Back campaign, with members of Silver Cross staff volunteering at Baby Basics HQ to join us in our efforts to give babies and families the basics they need for a safer, healthier and happier life.

What’s next for Baby Basics?

Financial donations allow us to keep our services running. From opening new Baby Basics centres, ensuring every Moses basket, cot and cot-bed has a new mattress, giving every child a new toy at Christmas and constantly growing and developing our services to better meet the changing needs of families.

Our hope and dream for the future is that baby banks become extinct. That children and families are no longer struggling to obtain the basics for life. But until that day we are committed to be there for families through our Baby Basics centres, which are run by, for and with the local community.