Bristol baby bank supports 11,000 families with essentials

A decade after it was founded by three local mums in a living room, a city baby bank has supported more than 11,000 families experiencing poverty or crisis.

The charity Baby Bank Network Bristol has redistributed nearly half a million essential items such as clothes and prams across the city since 2015.

It is now running a fundraising campaign until 30 June – called Power The Hive – to allow it to move to a larger site and help more families.

Local NHS midwife Rachel Fitzgibbon, who made the 11,000th referral to the charity, said: “I strongly believe every child deserves a safe, healthy start in life – and that begins with access to the essentials, from day one.”

The charity, which is run from a small warehouse in Fishponds, helps around 40 families a week and has 325 referral partners.

A third of children in the UK are living in poverty – a record 4.5 million – nearly half of whom are under the age of four, according to recent government figures.

The charity was founded in June 2015, by Becky Gilbert, Eva Fernandes, and Melissa Burgers, who initially aimed to help just three families per week.

The charity now has five part-time staff, a board of trustees and around 20 volunteers.

It estimates that the value of the 460,000 mostly secondhand items it has so far redistributed, if new, would be £3.4m.

The organisation relies entirely on donations, grants and fundraising.

Volunteer trustee Morena Staiano said: “Volunteering has opened my eyes to the resilience and strength of our community.

“My hope is that Baby Bank Network Bristol continues to be a beacon of hope and support for families.”

The Power The Hive campaign aims to raise £10,000 in a week via the online platform Big Give, with the first £5,000 to be matched by radio company Global under its Make Some Noise scheme.