Baby Bank Network

Baby Bank Network is a charity that supports families who are experiencing poverty or crisis by providing them with pre-loved items for their children aged 0-5 years, whilst reducing waste and promoting reuse of items. They collect pre-loved baby equipment, clothes, cots, slings, prams, feeding aids, books and toys, and pass them on to families, along with some essential new items like toiletries. Powered by volunteers and working with referral partners, they make sure your pre-loved donations get to the families who need them most. It is a free service for families and referral partners.

 

Baby Bank Bristol Blog:

Helping Local Families and the Planet

Baby Bank Network Bristol was founded in 2015 by a group of local mums from their kitchen tables, with donations collected and sorted in garages and spare rooms (often with their babies strapped to their chests!). Local women who wanted to help other families by passing on their pre-loved baby items to those who couldn't afford to buy them. 

Newborn bundle with pre-loved items and toiletries for local family

In the eight years since we began, we have helped over 8000 families. Yet with 1 in 5 children in Bristol living in income deprived families, referrals to our service are increasing. In December 2022 we received a record number with 76 families referred in one week. On average we support 160 families per month, and over 1500 families each year.  

As well as supporting families, an important part of our work is the reuse of items. Baby Bank Network Bristol provides an easily accessible way for people to donate their pre-loved baby items, safe in the knowledge they will be redistributed to local families that need them. By passing on items that have been used and loved by one family to another, we help to prolong the life of these items. This helps the environment by reducing the number of new items that need to be made, and creating a circular sharing economy that benefits us all. There are over 200 Baby Banks in the UK, and our combined work plays a significant role in reducing the amount of baby ‘stuff’ in use and extending its lifecycle.

Volunteer sorting donations at our warehouse

Research suggests on average a child in the UK will own 493 toys by the age of 13. With an estimated 12 million+ children (under 16 years) in the UK - that is a lot of toys! At Baby Bank Network Bristol we know how important toys and books are for young children, but also that it doesn’t need to cost the earth to provide them. All the pre-loved toys and books donated to us are carefully checked, cleaned and packed into age appropriate bundles by our team of volunteers, ready to give to families.

Volunteer sorting donations in our toy room

Sustainability has become increasingly important to parents over the last few years - between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, 1118 supporters donated items and we redistributed over 5000 items to 1586 families. The value of these items would have cost £416,345 if they had been bought second-hand, and over £1.25 million if bought new. At Baby Bank Network Bristol we have estimated the amount of carbon saved by reusing the key items (measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, tCO2-eq) as 20.6 tCo2-eq during this period.

Baby Bank Network shop in SPARKS Bristol

In addition to our core referral service we recently opened our new shop in Sparks Bristol, Broadmead which sells an excellent selection of pre-loved maternity wear, children’s clothes, toys and books toys - pop in and take a look! Profits from the shop go towards supporting our core referral service.

At Baby Bank Network Bristol we passionately believe that by reusing and passing on pre-loved baby items, families can get a helping hand whilst helping the planet!

How can you support:


For further information please read our latest Impact Report and visit our website.

Written By: Sian Lampey