Bairnecessities was founded by local mum and community nursery nurse, Helen Feeney. In a similar concept to a food bank, our aim is to tackle child poverty and promote re-use by donating baby essentials to families who are struggling. We take in pre-loved items from local families and distribute them to those in need via a network of referral partners. Referral partners include Health Visitors, Midwives, Social Workers and partner charities. All referrals come directly from the referral partners allowing families to remain anonymous, which can help remove some of the stigma attached to receiving charity.  

Bairnecessities is 100% volunteer-run, we rely on the generosity of families and local businesses donating items, money and time to ensure local families can rely on this valuable service.

Save The Children state, at least 20% of children in our area live in poverty. We provide essential items to free up finances for other necessary household bills, for example food and heating. It has also been shown that children who grow up in poverty in Aberdeenshire, are far less likely to do well at school than their better off classmates, seriously harming their future life chances. By providing free, good quality pre-loved clothes, toys, books and equipment, children in our area may have the same chance as other children in more well-off homes.

As well as aiding the difficult transition of having a new family and providing an improved living environment, these measures reduce the financial burden on families. This can help lead to an improvement in their mental well-being, lower anxiety about caring for their child, an increased ability to focus on other aspects of homelife and the confidence to make positive choices for the whole family.

Since starting in November 2016 we have helped support over 400 families and with the cost of living rising and Winter approaching, we anticipate referrals to increase significantly. We have recently started a “Warm and Dry” campaign to offer coats and shoes/boots to children up to the age of 11 to support families further.

“I cannot express how grateful I am to Bairnecessities who recently supported a young mother and her children who were fleeing domestic violence. This lady and her young children left with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Within hours of contacting the charity I was met with an overwhelming amount of donations including a pram, nappies, clothes, warm blankets and the list goes on. This local charity is invaluable to our community and I am forever grateful for their continued support.” Local Health Visitor.

 

A recent donation that went out to a local family