I hope that you are enjoying the sunny bank holiday. This newsletter comes to you a little later in the weekend than I originally planned as there was a lot of excitement in the warehouse on Friday. After nearly twelve months of planning and work, we got the call to say that the National Lottery have agreed to fund our 'Spreading Our Wings' bid and have awarded Stripey Stork £499,808 over three years. To be offered such a significant amount is a great reflection on the work that we do, our plans for the future and the support we have in the community. Whilst is it bittersweet to be scaling up a service we wish wasn't needed, the National Lottery recognise the expertise and skills we have to do the work. They are supporting our plans to offer the Stripey Stork service on a wider scale and to be available to every family who need us in Surrey. It will mean the warehouse will be open more, that we can make more deliveries to partners and smaller baby banks across the county, and that will we will build on the offering we provide to families with children from 0-16 years. We can't wait to get started and know that the whole of Team Stork will support us to 'spread our wings'. You can read more about what we have been up to in the warehouse and our School Days and Stripes4Stripey plans below. Now that the weather has improved I'm looking forward to seeing our team in stripey t-shirts on 22nd June rather than the woolly gloves and scarves we've become accustomed to over winter.
2023 to date in numbersYour donations have meant that we have been able to respond to requests quickly, and so far we have supported 2,625 families in 2023. That means families in our community have been able to benefit from:
1,085 clothes packs
78 newborn packs
111 prams and buggies
141 bedding bundles
118 cots and beds
345 packs of nappies
384 toy bundles
Thank you for donating your preloved items. They really do have a positive impact in the community. Please take a look at our latest wish list for items that we currently need
.'School Days' appeal
Our School Days Appeal is here. Our goal is to help families by providing the school supplies needed to make the most of their education. We believe that thriving at school should not be dependent on their family circumstances and we want to give children the tools they need to succeed. With your help we will be able to provide;
New school bags and backpacks, filled with water bottles and age-appropriate stationery
School uniform and PE kit (non-branded only)
School shoes and PE trainers
You can help us as an individual by donating uniform, stationery or money. Alternatively, you can get your school community involved and organise a donation event at your school (a perfect 'end of term' activity). If you would like more information on organising a donation event please email partnerships@stripeystork.org.uk.
An urgent request to help 255 adults and children fleeing Sudan
At the end of April we received an urgent call from our friends at Alliance for Better Care, to help them support 255 adults and children who had arrived at Gatwick overnight, fleeing from Sudan. Most had arrived with nothing, not even a change of clothes, so it was important to provide essentials, and immediately. Our volunteers got to work and in just a few hours assembled bulk supplies of nappies, toiletries, clean clothes, underwear and shoes, as well as lots of small toys, activity sets, games and stationery to occupy the little ones. They were also able to put together maternity packs for the pregnant women and provide bottles and blankets for the small babies in the group. This wasn't everything they will need, but we’ve been able to provide some short-term comfort, and the health teams know they can return to us as they learn more about the families and identify their longer-term needs. Thanks to your donations we are able to respond quickly and effectively to support our partners in moments like this. Getting requests like is what Team Stork does best with volunteers staying late and all of our team assembling items and loading the cars. Thank you to everyone who made this happen. We were pleased to be able to help.
What's happening at Stripey Stork HQ
At the beginning of May, we opened our doors and took part in The Big Help Out as part of the celebrations for King Charles' Coronation. The session gave people the opportunity to come along and experience a taster volunteering session with us. Thank you to everyone who came. There was lots of chat, laughter, hard work and, of course, tea and cake. If you would like to volunteer at Stripey Stork, then we'd love to hear from you https://stripeystork.org.uk/donate-time/
Congratulations to our superstar fundraiser Sam from Walton Heath Golf Club who ran the Richmond Half in April and raised over £5000 for Stripey Stork. We caught up with Sam after the race to find out how it all went. Read our blog to find out more about how an injury threatened to derail his preparations and what running for Stripey Stork meant to him.
May half term fun with our Kids Corner
Half term is almost here and entertaining the children can be expensive. We’ve built up a great resource of free children’s activities and put them in our Kids Corner for all to enjoy. For example, we have some fab ideas on how to make your own Stripey fort or the perfect movie night, a fun eye spy sheet to take on a nature walk and word searches and colouring for a rainy day. Make sure you tag us in your photos, so that we can see all the fun you're having. Have a great half term. If you're finding the holidays difficult and you need support please take a look at our Cost of Living resources which has details on how we, and other organisations, can help. https://stripeystork.org.uk/cost-of-living/
There's less an month until we invite you to join in the fun and wear your best stripey clothing. This year we're raising money for our School Days appeal, with the aim of providing school essentials such as uniform, shoes and stationery for as many families as possible across Surrey. Thursday 22nd June is the all-important date to mark in your diary. Spread the word and get your friends, family, school, work place and community groups involved. Get them to wear something stripey for the day, hold a bake sale, join in our quiz night or take the best stripey selfie. We’d love to see more people than ever take part this year, so please tag your friends colleagues, TA's and teachers and help us spread the word!
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