Leeds Baby Bank appeal ahead of Armley move

National World - LocalTV

With 40,000 Leeds children living in absolute poverty, Leeds Baby Bank has announced an urgent appeal to help launch its new larger premises in Armley.

Transcript

00:00There is a lot of a shame that families don't always want to admit that they do need the help

00:04but we need to remember that the children and the babies are at the centre of what we do

00:09and no child should ever go without and it makes me quite emotional actually

00:13because it shouldn't be. Babies should be born to have the essentials,

00:19they should be kept warm, they should be loved, they should have shelter and feel safe.

00:24Leeds Baby Bank was founded in 2017 and aims to ensure no child goes without essentials due to poverty.

00:31In 2024 it helped over 5,500 children by distributing items including 600 prams, 27,000 items of clothing and 200,000 nappies.

00:42Their new base on Wellington Road in Armley is around four times the size of their current Merian Street premises

00:48but it requires vital fixtures and fittings to make it safe and equipped

00:52with an online crowdfunder now underway.

00:54Since we started the demand has really gone up.

00:57As of today we've got 235 families waiting.

01:02Recently we had to close our referral form because we've just seen such a demand for help.

01:09There's lots of conversations that I've had in the past where families would only say

01:13I just need a pram, I don't need anything else but then later on in the conversation

01:16we soon realise that they need so much more.

01:19They don't have bedding, they don't have clothing and all the essential items

01:23and I think once the families realise that the help and support is there

01:27it opens the doors for them to then say actually I haven't got anything for my baby and I do need some help.

01:33Where we're doing a couple of referrals a week we're now doing sort of several hundred a month.

01:38We're finding that it's not just families that are on a low income, it's actually families that have two parents working

01:46but the cost of living and so on is having an effect on a lot of people.

01:52We provide families with nappies, clothing for children right from birth up to about 10 years

01:59we will help if they've got siblings we try and help where we can.

02:03We provide toys, blankets, sheets, cots, cot beds, high chairs, breast pumps, maternity pads, toiletries.

02:14At the moment our most needed items are prams, so single prams, double prams, strollers.

02:20We've got over 45 families at the moment just on the waiting list for those items.

02:25We also need cots and cot beds, high chairs, you name it at the moment we need it.

02:32The new centre will see Leeds Baby Bank introduce in-person collections, parenting skills sessions

02:38and other services to break the cycle of poverty for more families.

02:42It's such a huge thing and that's why we do it, to allow these babies to come into the world

02:46and have the things that they need and it's really important.

02:50Some of the comments that we've had after the families have got their items are

02:55you've made such a difference, I can now enjoy my baby rather than worrying.

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