Baby essentials support families’ wellbeing

Leeds Baby Bank’s mission is to support families in and around Leeds with baby essentials to ensure that no child goes without. We caught up with them about their work, supported through Jimbo’s Fund. 

Can you tell us a bit about Leeds Baby Bank? 

At Leeds Baby Bank we support families with young children who are living in poverty in Leeds. We help by providing all the essential baby items and equipment that a child needs. This includes cots, warm bedding, baby baths, toiletries, nappies, baby milk, baby food, clothes and prams. Families are referred to us by care professionals including midwives, health visitors and social workers. Many of the items we provide are pre-loved donations from our wonderful supporters. We also run an Outreach service where we visit different children’s centres in the community and provide signposting and support as well as essential baby items including nappies, toiletries, baby food and milk. 

What has funding from Jimbo’s Fund enabled you to do? 

The funding from Jimbo’s Fund has funded two key roles in the charity: our Unit Manager and our Driver. Our Unit Manager looks after the referrals from care professionals and, along with our team of volunteers, ensures that families get what they need. Our Driver delivers the support bundles to families’ homes and also collects in donations of pre-loved items from our supporters. Both roles are integral to our service. We are incredibly grateful for the funding from Jimbo’s Fund. This funding has enabled the charity to grow and meet the increasing demand as more and more people experience poverty in our city. 

Can you tell us about the impact of what you do on the people you work with?  

A mum of a baby boy we helped recently said “Thank you for the cot bed you provided for my baby boy.  Ever since he’s had his new bed, he’s slept brilliantly every night! It’s made a massive difference.” 

We hear from families regularly who tell us of the difference the support they’ve received has made. We empower parents to give their children what they need with the aim of reducing the effects of childhood poverty. For example, when we provide a bed for a baby and they get a good night’s sleep, the whole family can sleep well. A good night’s sleep positively affects mental and physical well-being. Providing a family with a double buggy means they can take their children out and about in the local community, getting fresh air and meeting people. It makes the difference between being stuck inside and having the freedom to go outside. Again, this makes a difference to people’s well-being.  

In our survey this year, 97% of families said that the support they received from Leeds Baby Bank positively affected their family’s mental well-being. 

We can only do what we do thanks to our amazing supporters and funders. 

What are some of the biggest challenges you face as an organisation?  

As a charity our biggest challenge is the increasing demand for our services. As more and more people fall into poverty, the numbers of people accessing our services increases. This means we need to raise more money in order to help everyone who needs our support. We also need to find new premises, and this is currently a challenge for us! 

How is your organisation preparing for the future, and what kind of funding is needed? 

We are developing our Outreach service to ensure it develops along with the increase in demand and is helping those in crisis situations. We need more funding to ensure we can deliver four sessions a month to those most in need. We also use funding to purchase items we really need where there is high demand. This includes cots, mattresses and buggies. As we find our new premises, this will present us with new opportunities to grow our services to help even more people living in poverty across Leeds.