Baby Basics Leeds
Hello!
We are Baby Basics Leeds, the local branch of a national charity aimed to support new mothers and families who are struggling to meet the financial and practical burden of looking after a new baby. We serve Leeds city and surrounding areas focusing on providing items to support mums and their 0-12 months old baby.
About Us
At Baby Basics Leeds we provide expectant mums with a variety of requested items to ease the financial burden of a newborn. We take referrals from health and social care professionals as well as other charities. We send out Moses baskets full of all the essential items they need for their newborn. This includes toiletries for mum and baby, breast pads and maternity pads, clothes for baby, bedding and a few nappies. We have launched a new hospital bag as we know that can add to pressure of getting ready for delivery. This will be a specific bag holding some essentials including a maternity nightie/nursing bra/flip flops/toiletries as well as a small selection of baby items. We have started to provide clothing bundles for 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12 months if they would like this too.
We are based out of St. Paul’s Church, Ireland Wood, Leeds, LS16 6BS. The church is usually open weekdays 09.00-14.00 (subject to holidays) and Sunday mornings. There is a donation bin in the foyer labelled for us. Check out our Facebook page for their opening times or send us a message to check.
Please see our donations list for what we can accept.
Meet the Team
We are a small group of volunteers from the Leeds area. Usually meeting on Monday mornings to pack referrals- with some occasional ad-hoc packing as required during the week. There is a team of 10 who coordinate (among other commitments!) to facilitate Baby Basics Leeds.
We think everyone deserves an equal chance to thrive, that everyone needs love and support, and that community and generosity are so powerful. Baby Basics gives families support, encouragement and the feeling of not being alone. The provisions can help make this time a bit easier, brighter and allow for dignity in potentially a difficult situation.
We are all passionate that no baby goes without and love to pack each referral to a high standard so that it can be a joyful gift!
Get Help
We work by professional referral only.
We take referrals from any organisation working with families including midwives, health visitors, local council, housing, charities, churches and community organisations.
We support families with children from pre-birth up to and including 12 months.
Families
Do you live in the Leeds area, have a child pre-birth to 12 months and need help with items for your family? We can help. Please talk to your midwife, health visitor, social care professional or a charity or community organisation that is supporting you. They will be able to make a referral on your behalf. We do not accept self referrals. If you have not seen your health visitor for a while or do not know how to contact them, contact your GP or local Family Hub who will be able to tell you.
Make a Referral
We work by professional referral only. We take referrals from any organisation working with families including midwives, health visitors, local council, housing, charities, churches and community organisations.
We aim to pack the referral 4 weeks before due date for an unborn baby or within 2 weeks of referral date for other referrals. If your referral is more urgent than this, e.g for a baby due within 4 weeks, a child not sleeping safely or a child who has no clothing to wear, please complete a referral form and highlight the urgency in email.
It must be the referrer or someone from your organisation that collects the referral. We do not allow families to collect their own items or have any contact directly with the families. There is no limit to the number of times a family can be referred to us if you assess that they still need support. If there is anything that is not on the referral form that you think we may also be able to help with, please ask as we sometimes have extra items in or can offer advice as to where you may be able to get them from.
- Please ensure forms are filled correctly including referrers contact and items required.
- Email completed forms to babybasicsleeds@gmail.com
- We will reply to confirm your referral is processed, if there are waiting lists for anything or any other details we need.
- We will email when referral is ready for collection, please ensure can arrange prompt collection as our storage is limited.
Give Help
See latest donation list
Donating secondhand items
We love giving out high quality preloved items as know they can continue to be enjoyed by the next owners. We ask that items donated are from our list or a specific request as our storage is limited. Please only donate clean, stain free, good quality items that are from smoke-free homes so they can be given out. Items may be passed on if not suitable or if our storage is full.
We ask that all items are washed and if possible sorted into sizes/categories in clearly labelled bags before being brought to us to speed up our processing. All Moses baskets have to be given out with a new mattress as standard so please dispose of yours before donating a basket (unless is new in packaging) .
Donating new items
Some items have to be given out new, these can be dropped or delivered to the church or alternatively below is the link to our Amazon wish list to buy us some items if that suits you better! We are not brand specific.
Donating financially
Regular or one-off
To donate to Baby Basics Leeds our finances goes through St Paul’s Church accounts.
- You can go through the St Paul’s Church website and reference Baby Basics.
- If you would like to give via a BACS bank transfer you can use the account details.
Account Name: Parish of St Paul’s Church Ireland Wood & Tinshill
Account Number: 36268554
Sort Code: 05-00-85
Please use a reference: your surname/babybasics This will help with accounting. Contact us for a gift aid form. - To donate via cheque please make your cheque payable to Baby Basics Leeds and send it via post (address above).
- Or can send us a message to arrange.
We are incredibly grateful for any donation, regardless of size, as every contribution helps us make a difference.
How can you get involved?
- Volunteering – We have space for more volunteers to help us make up referrals, sort donations, apply for grants and more. If you work for a company/know someone who does, that has allocated volunteer hours in the local area- do get in touch as we potentially can arrange volunteer days to get involved in.
- Do you like charity shops/Facebook marketplace etc? Can you help acquire needed items for us? Or even drop them to the church too
- Knitting or crocheting – We love giving out knitted items. We can give out hats, mittens, jumpers/cardis and blankets suitable for under 12 months. We just request that they are a tight knit-no big gaps please for little fingers to go through.
- Fundraising – We support anyone who would like to fundraise for us. If you would like to get involved please contact us by email or fill out our contact form.
- Storage space- We are growing and often tight for space, do you have space to help store items? Let us know if you have any suggestions.
Follow our Facebook page as sometimes have specific requests. If you want to get involved volunteering time, finances or have any donations (see donations list) please let us know, we would love to hear from you!