We are now officially into Spring and whilst it may not feel like that from the cold weather, our Mother’s Day campaign brought a splash of colour to the warehouse with rows and rows of bright orange bags ready to go out. ‘A Gift for Mum’ is a simple but meaningful way to recognise those mums without family support who would otherwise go unrecognised on Mothering Sunday, and the feedback we get is that the handwritten cards included in the bags are much appreciated. In the background the team have been busy as the charity has just gone through its first full audit. I’m pleased to say that it went well and the audit team commented on how well organised our financial records and policies were. At Stripey Stork we believe that how we do things is just as important as what we do, and it’s reassuring for our donors and supporters to know that this rigour and focus on quality extends from the warehouse work to the back office processes. I am grateful to the whole team and the care and passion they have for their work. You may have seen The Big Help Out campaign advertised. To mark His Majesty The King’s Coronation organisations are creating lots of opportunities for people to volunteer and help in their community. Stripey Stork will be taking part and offering taster volunteering sessions at the warehouse. If you haven’t had a chance to help us at the warehouse before this may be your opportunity. We will share details on social media in the coming weeks and will look forward to seeing you at the warehouse soon.
2023 to date in numbers
Your donations have meant that we have been able to respond to requests quickly and so far, this year, we have sent out;
745 clothes packs
790 coats
300 toiletry packs (not A Gift for Mum)
79 prams and buggies
138 bedding bundles
53 newborn packs
291 toy bundles
Thank you for donating your preloved items. Your donations enable us to support so many families across Surrey and really do have a positive impact in the community.
A Gift for mum - supporting mums across Surrey this Mother's Day
We often hear about superhero mums who are keeping things together in extremely difficult circumstances – they put their needs last and go without to provide for their children. Our A Gift for Mum campaign brings the community together to let these mums know that we see them and we appreciate them. Thanks to your kindness and generosity, this year we have been able to give out 608 pampering gifts. Each Little Orange bag contains some brand new pampering gifts and a hand written card. We hope that these gifts remind these mums that they are not alone, and they are doing a good job. Please read our blog to find our more about this very special campaign.
A heart-warming visit on a Friday afternoon
At Stripey Stork, we work on a referral basis, so we rarely get to meet any of the families that we support but this month we had the pleasure of meeting Hanna and her three young children. The family are Ukrainian refugees and having spent nine months on the road trying to get to the UK, they were being supported by Spelthorne Borough Council and Cllr Karen Howkins. The family had very little in terms of possessions and the children needed everything for starting school. We are so proud that, thanks to your donations and the work of our volunteers, were able to provide them with school uniform, shoes, school bags and bedding. The children's excitement upon unpacking their school bags was obvious and mum, Hanna, got tearful telling us how grateful she was. It was a real privilege to meet them and to play a small part in making their lives in the UK that little bit better.
What's happening at Stripey Stork HQ
Our latest fundraising superstar is Chloe. She is the charity ambassador at her school and has chosen to support Stripey Stork. She decided to hold a book sale and collected donations, sorted through them all and sold them at school. She's raised a fantastic £180 which we will use to top up our clothing packs. We always say at Stripey Stork that kindness starts at a young age and Chloe is flying the flag for the next generation. We're so proud of her.
In March, we celebrated International Women's Day by celebrating some of the many great women that we are surrounded by. This year’s theme was #EmbraceEquity and we believe that to inspire young girls, it’s important to show them strong and real female role models. We asked all of these women just one question: "What piece of advice would you give to young girls today?" Read our blog post to find out what they said.
Get rewarded for shopping locally and support Stripey Stork
Love Reigate is an initiative started by local resident, Julian, to encourage local people to support local businesses. They have partnered with a host of local businesses to bring you exclusive deals, helping your money to go further and stay within the local economy. In return you get rewarded with exclusive special offers and 5% of all membership fees are donated to Stripey Stork. In addition, at no extra cost to you, anyone who signs up and uses promo code 'STRIPEY' will qualify for an additional donation from Love Reigate to Stripey Stork - £5 for a 6 month membership and £10 for a 12 month membership on top of the 5% already donated.
Dates for your diary
Stripes 4 Stripey is our next campaign when we ask everyone to wear something Stripey and donate to Stripey Stork. The money raised from Stripes4Stripey is used to buy the new items of clothing that we like to add to the pre-loved clothing packs that we give out all year round, including pants, socks and PJs.
Thank you for your support. Nicola Dawes DL Founder & Chief Executive
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