HRH The Prince of Wales took to the polo field today to play in the Out-Sourcing Inc. Royal Charity Polo Cup at Guards Polo Club, with the day raising £1,000,000 to be shared by eleven charities supported by TRH’s The Prince and Princess of Wales.  Today’s contribution takes the total raised from Royal Charity Polo Days played in the UK over the last 12 years to more than £12,000,000.

The Prince played as part of the U.S. Polo Assn. team alongside Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, Amr Zedan and Mark Tomlinson. The opposing Standing Rock Polo team was formed by Philipp Muller, Ivan Rubinich, Malcolm Borwick and Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi , with the BP Healthcare Polo team made up of Garvey Beh, James Beh, Henry Porter and Steve Cox. 

In an exciting round robin format, it was the US Polo Assn. team who won with The Princess of Wales presenting the Out-Sourcing Inc. Royal Charity Cup to the winning captain Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha.

This year’s event provided a unique opportunity to support and raise funds for eleven of Their Royal Highness’s patronages. These organisations are: MHI (Shout), Wales Air Ambulance, Centrepoint, The Passage, Mountain Rescue England & Wales, Foundling Museum, Forward Trust, East Anglia Children’s Hospices, Baby Basics, Little Village and AberNecessities

‘Out-Sourcing Inc’s David M. Matsumoto said: “Out-Sourcing Inc. is honored to support today’s charity polo match. Knowing that this polo event will raise much needed funds for ten incredible charities aligns perfectly with the company’s own charitable ethos. Out-Sourcing Inc. focuses on creating platforms to highlight and support charitable endeavors across the world, including here in the UK.”

“Charity representative, Victoria Hornby, CEO of Shout/ MHI speaking on behalf of the eleven charities said all of the charities benefitting today support people in some of the most difficult and testing moments of their lives. The funds from this year’s Out-Sourcing Charity Polo Day will ensure that we can continue to be there to offer the support they deserve. “

The day was made possible by the generous sponsors and event partners.  Thank you to Out-Sourcing Inc, who assumed the role of title sponsor and have a long association with fundraising events such as this. Grateful thanks must also go to the other sponsors and supporters including; Guards Polo Club, U.S. Polo Assn., Standing Rock Polo Team, BP Healthcare, Lugano Diamonds, Audi, AP&Co, The Cox Family of Oklahoma and Whispering Angel.

Thank you so much BBC News for covering this story from our Sheffield Centre.

By Victoria Scheer

Read Full Article Here

Author: Rosanna Robins (Read Aritcle on Hallam FM by clicking here or read below)

It comes as we’re being warned the rising cost of formula is pushing some parents to try and steal it

A South Yorkshire baby charity has told us it’s thinking about providing formula milk due to a growing number of parents struggling to afford it.

It comes after we told you this morning about warnings of a health emergency – with charities reporting that some parents are being driven to steal it because of the soaring cost.

Baby Basics was founded in Sheffield and now has 55 branches around the UK.

It previously hasn’t given out formula, partly due to issues around needing to work with health professionals who want to encourage breastfeeding.

‘We hear stories of mums watering down formula and reusing nappies’

But CEO Cat Ross says families are becoming desperate:

“The need is growing. We’ve seen in our supermarkets it’s moving behind the checkout because formula milk is becoming one of the most shoplifted items.

“But also we hear stories of mums watering down formula in the same way we hear stories of mums reusing nappies because they can’t afford to buy another pack of nappies.

“At the end of the day a mum wants to be able to feed her child, and parents will go to whatever lengths they have to be able to do that.

“We don’t right now provide formula milk, but we’re also determined that actually we need to overcome those challenges to be able to support families with this need.

“We’re continuing to see a massive increase in demand. That’s everything from clothing, toiletries, nappies, toys and beds.

“And we’re also seeing a drop in donations. Everybody is struggling with the cost of living, so somebody who previously may have decided to donate their cot to us can’t afford to do that anymore because they need to sell it to pay their electric bill.”

Cat is also reminding families who are struggling to check if they are eligible for the Healthy Start vouchers, which is an NHS scheme aimed at helping people who are pregnant or who have young children.

“There may be people thinking they can’t apply for the Healthy Start voucher either because of their immigration status right now or because they’ve got immigration status but it says on their judgement ‘no access to public funds’,” says Cat.

“If you have at least one child under four years old that is a British citizen that was born in the UK, you can still access Healthy Start vouchers. And it’s worth going online and getting that application in because you can use those vouchers to help buy milk.”

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We were so excited to have our first ever Baby Basics National Conference! We welcomed our centres from all across the UK to our national conference held at St Mary’s Marylebone to celebrate our collective achievements and to spend time envisaging what is next for Baby Basics UK.

Our CEO, Cat Ross, thanked all the centres for their ongoing commitment, especially over the last 3 years as we faced the Covid-19 pandemic and welcomed families resettling from Afghanistan and Ukraine. She also shared what has been happening nationally.

Our wonderful patron, Rev Kate Bottley, thanked our Baby Basics Centres and shared her heart for Baby Basics and what we do as a charity.

The amazing Sarah McMullen, Associate Director of Research and Policy, from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood shared the work of the foundation and the Shaping Us campaign and how we are part of creating change.

We were blessed with some brilliant break our sessions. Cat Ross and Louise Ellis hosted a group chat, Jenny Pegg and Rev Kate Bottley facilitated a time of prayer and Marlene Gorman, Breath Work Specialist, led a relaxation session. Thank you so much to the wonderful leaders from these amazing sessions.

Our centres were able to discuss what’s on their heart for Baby Basics and fed this back to the larger group.

We also celebrated 10 years of the incredible Baby Basics Northampton.

It was a wonderful day and we are so thankful for all those that came.

Baby Basics is proud to support the #ShapingUs campaign from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, spearheaded by HRH The Princess of Wales. We are thankful for them continuing to highlight the importance of the early years in shaping healthy, happy adults and calling for recognition of “The life-changing impact we can have when we create a supportive & nurturing world around children, and those who care for them”. Many of the families referred to Baby Basics find themselves, for many different reasons, needing extra support, whether physically, financially, or emotionally. We appreciate that what we do is a small but essential part of the holistic approach that is crucial if we want to see real change. If you want to help change the experience of a child by supporting your local Baby Basics centre, please find more information here http://www.baby-basics.org.uk/other-locations 

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As 2022 comes to a close we want to say a massive thank you to every person who has volunteered, donated, funded and cheered us on this year. Baby Basics wishes everyone a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Baby Basics has supported 43662 children and their families this year.