Thank you from Baby Bank Network

You’ve probably seen our recent drive to raise money via our #teddytenner campaign.  This campaign

has not only helped raise enough funds to rent a new space for six months but has also increased the

awareness of Baby Bank Network in Bristol and further afield.

As a new mum myself I was amazed at the generosity of family, friends, neighbours and colleagues

following the birth of my baby boy and felt truly grateful for all the gifts and hand me downs as well

as the help and support.  One of the reasons for volunteering for Baby Bank Network is that I wanted

to be able to do something to help others and being through the emotions of having a new baby

recently as well as knowing how much stuff they need and how quickly they grow I decided to help

those less fortunate than me.   I can easily identify why people have been so quick to donate baby

items to us and attend our events whereby they can donate but also get a coffee and cake.  The

question that fascinates me (especially with a degree in Psychology) is what is it makes people

donate their hard earned cash especially when then are so many great causes out there.

This week I’ve been in touch with some of those that donated money to find out more behind why

they felt that they wanted to support us. There seem to be many different reasons that make people

donate.  Anita Marsh was keen to help invest in the future of the charity “I had seen the Baby Bank

Network on both Facebook and Twitter – the cute photos of teddies with a tenner made me smile

and curious! When I realised that this charity has only been up and running a few short months and

is already helping up to 10 families a week in the Bristol area, I wanted to help too and ensure the

future of the service was secured”

Another donation came from Lindsey, a mum of two, who is very much driven by the community

aspect to the work that we do “When times are hard, as a community we pull together to offer a

helping hand.  This is what makes us great.  I think that Baby Bank is an invaluable charity and I am

very proud to support such a brilliant cause.  Thank you Baby Bank for helping us be there for each

other.”

Arilda, a mum of one with another on the way said that “it’s great to be able to support a local charity

doing fantastic work helping families in Bristol and making a real difference to people’s lives”.

The #teddytenner campaign has shown that there are many motives for why people donate and also

that charitable giving in contagious.  It has been great to see the emotional connection that people

have with the work that we are doing and that has attracted them to help us and the feelings that

our donators are then left with, a recent article in the Guardian did point to the fact that “giving to

others can actually make us healthier”.

We’ve been getting great feedback about the service that we offer and it is monetary donations and

campaigns like this that will allow us to continue to grow and to expand our service within the Bristol

area.

We just wanted to take this opportunity to say ‘Thank you to everyone! ‘ We’ve come a long way in

such a short space of time and couldn’t have done it without you.