Local charity Bump, Baby and Beyond, Dumfries and Galloway (SC045122) have delivered 200 home craft packs to families in need. Through funding received from STV Children’s appeal and donations from Tesco, volunteers have purchased resources and filled boxes to entertain children from as young as 3 months through to those in their early teens.
Laura Graham, Chairperson of Bump, Baby and Beyond, said ‘We were approached by the STV Children’s Appeal to see whether we could use some funding to support families at this difficult time. We are an entirely volunteer-run organisation and most of our volunteers have young children of their own, so we quickly came up with the idea of free craft boxes to keep families entertained. Within 24 hours we had our funding request granted and had received applications for over 150 boxes.’
In addition to supplying boxes direct to families, the charity also worked with local organisations such as LIFT D&G and Dumfriesshire & Stewartry Women’s Aid to distribute to their clients.
Bump, Baby and Beyond has since been inundated with messages thanking the charity for their support, and with requests from families who missed out on the initial distribution. Trustee Kirsty Tomlin, who undertook the majority of the labour during the project and is now investigating funding sources to create additional packs, said, “We have had so many families contact us, and engage on social platforms to ask for help to try and entertain their children. From our discussions we have provided children with craft materials and ideas for things they can create; within the boxes there is tissue paper, decorative paper, pipe cleaners, pom poms, stickers, glue, paint, notebooks and much more. When I have delivered these boxes to the organisations, they are amazed at what they are getting, and the feedback from families has been overwhelming.”
Although the charity is unable to run their regular meetings and groups at the moment, they are still maintaining an active support network for parents through their various social media sites:
– Dumfries Sling Library is still offering support with choosing and fitting slings/carriers through online platforms and has extended all current hires free of charge as well as reducing the price of new hires, and volunteers have arranged sling exchanges and delivery while following social distancing guidelines.
– Volunteers from Dumfries and Galloway Nappy Library are providing advice to those who already have cloth nappies and have similarly extended hire of kits free of charge. All newborn kits are booked until August and have been dropped off or posted without social contact.
– Babes in the Woods continue to share outdoor play ideas and challenges through Facebook which can be done in gardens or when families are out for their daily walks.
– mum2mum friends continues to provide an online forum for parents to discuss any ideas, issues or concerns in the absence of face-to-face parent and toddler groups.
