Pembrokeshire Baby Bank was launched by two local mums in autumn 2019. Their idea was to collect donations of new/nearly new clothing and baby items and gift them to families in need in the county.

“We provide bundles which contain the essentials for baby’s first few weeks at home, bundles for the new mum and clothing bundles for older children up to around three-years-old,” said mum Val, ne of the founders.

“We have also received several cash donations which are used to buy items we are asked for, but don’t often receive as donations. We are often asked for vital safety equipment such as stair gates and high chairs.

“ To begin with, we ran the baby bank from our homes, but were overwhelmed with donations and soon found we were running out of space to sort and store the items, so at the beginning of this year, we signed a lease to rent some warehouse space in Pembroke,” continued Val.

“We work on a referral only basis. Health professionals, social workers, support workers etc request our help on behalf of their clients. If we are able to supply the items requested, the person making the referral collects the items and delivers them to the family. We decided to work in this way both to protect clients’ identity and to ensure our service is only used by families who are genuinely in need of assistance. The only criteria we have is that the family receiving the donation must live in Pembrokeshire. From the feedback we receive from the services we work with, we know the donations are making a real difference to families in the county.”

The Baby Bank is also currently looking for volunteers. Anyone able to spare a few hours a week to help is asked to please email [email protected].

“We will send you a short form to fill in – please let us know if you have any specific skills such as marketing or fundraising,” said Val. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t; being keen to help is every bit as important.

“Further information on what we do and a referral form to request help are available on our website at pembrokeshirebabybank.org. If you would like to make a donation, please visit our website or Facebook page (Pembrokeshire Baby Bank).”