What the Baby Bank Network needs – and what it doesn’t

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we’ve been overwhelmed by Bristol’s generosity. It’s absolutely fantastic. In fact, although we were counting on it, we never imagined just how quickly everything would take off and just how many donations we’d get in the first couple of months.

It has meant that our lovely army of sorting volunteers have been slightly overwhelmed, especially when it comes to items that we don’t need or can’t use.

To make the most of the items we’ve been given that we can’t reallocate, we’ve been selling them to raise vital funds for items we do need. This money will go towards new cot and Moses basket mattresses and brand new bottle teats, as well as nappies, wipes and cream. Which is why you may have seen Facebook posts from our team selling clothes from 12+ months, as well as toys that we can’t give out. We’ve also been able to pass on maternity clothes we’ve been donated to One25, a Bristol-based charity supporting street sex-working women to build new lives away from violence, poverty and addiction.

While we’re happy to make the most of what we’ve been kindly donated, unfortunately it also takes up valuable resources – and room – that we just don’t have at the moment.

We need 0-12 month baby clothes, buggies, slings, cots (but no mattresses), high chairs, stair gates, bouncers, baths, play mats, toiletries including nappies, wipes and bottles, and toys.

But we don’t need toddler clothes (we hope to expand our offering later down the line, but we just don’t have room for these at the moment), car seats, potties or broken buggies.

To find out more about we can and can’t put to use, see our full list here.

And, once again, we’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone that has donated to our cause and is helping families in need