Baby Bank Alliance

What an incredible year it has been for the baby bank community and the Baby Bank Alliance. It has been a joy to reflect on 2024 achievements and recognise how true community collaboration can improve the lives of thousands of babies and children experiencing poverty and financial hardship in the UK. What did we achieve together?   1.     Gathered the first national set of data from UK baby banks, to build a picture of their collective impact: we estimate that baby banks  supported almost 400,000 babies and children in 20203. 2.     Grew our community of baby banks; 56% (195) of UK baby banks are now members of the BBA, supported by us to enhance their services to families.   3.     Distributed over £150,000 unrestricted grants to 112 baby banks.   4.     Provided 60% of the baby bank community with gifted products.   5.     Demonstrated the power of a national alliance by attracting donors and other high-profile partners for fundraising, in-kind donations and important awareness raising, such as: ➡️ IKEA:  partnership and CRM campaign generated awareness of baby banks and crucial funding. ➡️ Amazon:  funding and in-kind donations. ➡️ ITV and Morrisons: creation of ‘Lorraine’s Big Baby Bank Appeal’, with coverage on national TV for 2 weeks and donation stations in Morrisons’ 497 stores. Supporters donated over 120,000 products, which were passed on to local baby banks, and the campaign gave a huge boost of awareness of baby banks. ➡️ Deloitte: donation of c.100 laptops to baby banks and families ➡️ The Multibank: donation of 11 brand new electric vans.  ➡️ Ickle Bubba: £15K gift in kind donation, £10K spare parts donation and corporate volunteering commitment.  ➡️ The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood: promotion and support and introduction to IKEA. ➡️ Generous support from our founding seed funders. What we do collectively to make sure every baby and child has the resources they need, has a lasting impact on their early years development. It means so much more than immediate goods – it makes families feel supported, helps to build positive routines in the home, and reduces the stress and anxiety of worrying how to afford essentials when families budgets are squeezed by the cost of energy, food prices and stagnated wages. Thank you to everyone whose made this a dream inaugural year for the Baby Bank Alliance. Thank you for all your support on our mission to support the 342 UK baby banks making a real difference to children and families in their communities. We can’t wait to build on this in 2025.

We are delighted to announce another new BBA partnership, with popular baby brand Ickle Bubba. Ickle Bubba have generously agreed to donate £15,000 worth of brand new products and £10,000 of spare parts to our member baby banks, as part of their Christmas campaign. They have also committed to every one of their head office staff doing a volunteering day in a baby bank. It has been a pleasure to work with Jenna Shorter and the team at Ickle Bubba and we are excited to continue to build this partnership together beyond Christmas.

Sadly, risk of closure is a stark reality for a number of baby banks at the moment. Many worry about having to close their doors to families due to limited funding or lack of affordable and large enough spaces. At the Baby Bank Alliance we're here to support all baby banks to continue their vital work in communities and keep their doors open. Little Green Sock baby bank in Trafford are sadly in this situation at the moment. To find out how you can support Little Green Sock, read more about their funding appeal here (https://lnkd.in/e6Bz_HQh) , or reach out to us directly if you have ideas or opportunities that can bring more affordable space to baby banks.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Lorraine's Big Baby Bank Appeal, a partnership with ITV's Lorraine, Morrisons supermarkets and the Baby Bank Alliance. The partnership will raise much needed awareness of baby banks and donations of essential items for the UK's baby banks, with dedicated donation points in 497 Morrisons stores.   As a recent new grandmother, Lorraine is passionate to ensure that all babies have the best possible start in life. At the Baby Bank Alliance we support and advocate for the UK's 300+ baby banks, to ensure babies and children have the essentials they need to thrive.   Lorraine’s Baby Bank Appeal will run on air for 2 weeks, shining a spotlight on the incredible work of baby banks, sharing stories from the baby bank community and the families they support, and encouraging viewers to donate essential items at their local Morrisons store.   Morrisons will pass the donations to local baby banks . The appeal is asking for donations of new packs of nappies, wipes, bottles and teats and toiletries for both new mums and babies.   We are so grateful to the team at ITV's Lorraine and Morrisons for helping to make this happen. if you would like to support, please watch Lorraine at 9am every week day and and visit your local Morrisons store to make a donation.

Last week our brilliant partner IKEA hosted a fun and playful event to celebrate the launch of the new 'SKOGSDUVA' children’s collection, which is supporting the Baby Bank Alliance with £1 from the sale of every item being donated to us. Content creators and their families joined us to eat, play and explore the beautiful collection, which is inspired by the enchanted forests of Sweden. Guests heard from our fantastic Baby Bank Alliance Chair Sophie Livingstone MBE, who brought to life the shocking levels of child poverty in the UK and the incredibly challenging situations many families find themselves in. It was great to see how engaged guests were - many told us they wanted to support their local baby banks by passing on their unused or preloved items. Thank you to Hiliary Jenkins, Carole Breen, @Liam Hill, The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood and the team at Hope&Glory PR for your roles in making this happen and your continued support of the Baby Bank Alliance. 

COME JOIN OUR TEAM! We are recruiting a new Communications and Project Officer. Do you have experience working with social and digital media? Are you looking for a role to expand and share your skills in copy writing, internal comms, brand building, partnerships, and the charity sector? Are you passionate about supporting a community of baby banks, able to hit the ground running to build up the Alliance? Full time role, with opportunities for flexible working and salary of £29,900. To apply visit: https://lnkd.in/eeya-5Ra

Play it forward – IKEA X Baby Bank Alliance We are delighted to announce that the Baby Bank Alliance is partnering with IKEA and their new SKOGSDUVA collection. This magical 26 piece range of products for children is inspired by the enchanted forests of Sweden. The range will lift children’s imaginations and inspire storytelling. Every child deserve a bit of magic! 🐝 🍂 🦔 🌳 🦉 To play it forward and support all babies and children in the UK, IKEA have partnered with the Baby Bank Alliance. £1 from every sale of the SKOGSDUVA range will be donated to the Baby Bank Alliance. This comes at a time of year we know is especially hard for families: homes to warm, increasing cost of bills and essential items, the pressures of winter festivities looming. For the families of the 4.3 million children living in poverty in the UK, affording everyday items to raise babies and children is a hard struggle. Baby banks are vital lifelines for so many, providing parents with support, and children with the items they need. Here at the Alliance, we support and advocate for the UK’s 300+ baby banks, so that every baby and child in the UK has the essentials they need to thrive. Our partnership with IKEA is a perfect fit: we know many of the preloved donations given by families to baby banks are often from IKEA, and IKEA’s ambitions for sustainable business practices and supporting those in poverty, helps us on our mission. IKEA and the Baby Bank Alliance were brought together through the The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood Business Taskforce. We are so grateful for their support and connection. How you can support baby banks: ➡ Visit one of the 21 IKEA stores or IKEA online to purchase the beautiful SKOGSDUVA range and support more children across the UK. ➡ Share our collaboration on socials, letting your friends, family and colleagues know about the new range supporting UK baby banks. ➡ Support families in your community by finding your local baby bank to donate pre-loved goods or volunteer your time. Visit our map to find the nearest one to you. https://lnkd.in/ejngaueG

We are appalled by the racist and anti-Muslim violence seen over the past few days. It has no place in any society. While communities are rallying around their neighbourhoods, families and friends, we know that this is still a frightening time for many. It can be difficult to explain to children, in particular.   Our partners at Save the Children UK have created a list of resources which might be helpful to baby banks, volunteers and families.    We are here for every UK baby bank, baby and child. Resources: Talking to children about racism: o  Talking to your kids about racism | UNICEF Parenting- https://lnkd.in/ejaMZsC o  Talking to children about racism | NSPCC - https://lnkd.in/e63tstJ o  How to talk to your children about race and racism - https://lnkd.in/dMR-YFZ   Talking to children about difficult topics: o  How to talk to kids about hard things | Save The Children UK -https://lnkd.in/gbRem4Rx o  How to talk to children about difficult topics | NSPCC - https://lnkd.in/dJC9aFX o  Southport attacks: How to talk to children about upsetting news - BBC News  - https://lnkd.in/evkyt6Hd   Helplines: o  Give us a Shout - https://lnkd.in/gEERX2Zv, o  Childline | Childline -https://lnkd.in/gvCfGAv o  Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen  -https://lnkd.in/eVviRnP  

We are appalled by the racist and anti-Muslim violence seen over the past few days. It has no place in any society. While communities are rallying around their neighbourhoods, families and friends, we know that this is still a frightening time for many. It can be difficult to explain to children, in particular.   Our partners at Save the Children UK have created a list of resources which might be helpful to baby banks, volunteers and families.    We are here for every UK baby bank, baby and child. Resources: Talking to children about racism: o  Talking to your kids about racism | UNICEF Parenting- https://lnkd.in/ejaMZsC o  Talking to children about racism | NSPCC - https://lnkd.in/e63tstJ o  How to talk to your children about race and racism - https://lnkd.in/dMR-YFZ   Talking to children about difficult topics: o  How to talk to kids about hard things | Save The Children UK -https://lnkd.in/gbRem4Rx o  How to talk to children about difficult topics | NSPCC - https://lnkd.in/dJC9aFX o  Southport attacks: How to talk to children about upsetting news - BBC News  - https://lnkd.in/evkyt6Hd   Helplines: o  Give us a Shout - https://lnkd.in/gEERX2Zv, o  Childline | Childline -https://lnkd.in/gvCfGAv o  Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen  -https://lnkd.in/eVviRnP  

We are incredibly proud of our achievements in the past year at the Baby Bank Alliance- working with and supporting UK baby bank community. It's all made possible by our members, supportive partners, and collaborators. So far, we have: 📌 157 baby banks joined the alliance as members. The community is constantly growing, and we have an aspiration to support all baby banks 🗨 9 baby banks form our alliance advisory group, having a strong role in shaping the work of the Alliance and representing the baby bank community  📈 Collated and shared our first-ever data set on the impact of baby banks 💸 Distributed our first round of Development Fund grants – providing unrestricted grants to 113 members 🎁 55% of alliance members have received donated products 🌟 Created a connected community, providing best practice resources, training and support. 📷 Partnered with the Sun’s on ‘Baby, Bank on Us’ media campaign bringing £100,000 worth of donations for baby banks 🚼 Collaborated with the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, including a visit from the Princess of Wales to meet our new members. 🖥 Launched our website and social media channels A huge thank you to all our partners and collaborators who have been integral to establishing the Baby Bank Alliance and supporting baby banks. Studio Texture Breathe Research Cameron Kirkcaldy IKEA The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood Deloitte Co-op The Sun Lidl GB Aviva In Kind Direct NCT Charity Home-Start UK UBS Optimus Foundation The Baby Bank Alliance was founded by Save the Children UK Purposeful Ventures Little Village, and Baby Bank Network, and jointly incubated by Save the Children and Purposeful Ventures Together we support UK baby banks to help the families and children who need it most. With 4.3 million children living in poverty in the UK, and a million of those facing destitution, baby banks have never been needed more. If you would like to discuss other ways you might be able to support the Baby Bank Alliance in its mission, please get in touch with us at info@babybankalliance.org