As you may already know, for our Give Back Black Friday event we are aiming to beat the number of donations we made to Baby Basics last year.

The event starts this Friday the 23rd of November and you can find bargains online for as little as £1.

This week we were delighted to interview Hannah Peck, founding member of Baby Basics and hear what she had to say:

Official Job title and what this involves:

I’m the founder and director of Baby Basics – I was part of the initial team that started Baby Basics as a small clothing bank in Sheffield nearly 10 years ago. We now a network of over 30 centres working around the country to provide essential items to struggling families. We are still a very small charity so my role involves a little bit of everything – from managing the staff team, finance and fundraising, as well as the more interesting side of things which is linking up with different people around the country and helping them to launch Baby Basics for their own communities.

Years at Baby Basics: 

10 years in the spring.

Number of volunteer staff up and down the UK:

Each Baby Basics centre manages their own team of volunteers and we don’t ask for those numbers centrally – it’s definitely in the 100’s but I couldn’t give anything like exact numbers.

Where does the funding for running baby basics come from?

Funding comes from a patchwork of sources. We have a number of committed givers who donate to us on a monthly basis, we also work with charitable trusts who provide grants and we undertake a variety of fundraising activities.

How have the problems women face who come to you for help, changed over the years?

The issues and problems that were present when we started Baby Basics are still active today. They also appear to be coupled with additional issues around the reduction of other services that have felt the sting of austerity.

Has the number of mothers needing help risen?

Yes, across all of the Baby Basics centre around the UK we saw a 40% increase in referrals this year.

What are recipients generally most happy to receive?

Clothing is a key item that we give away. Buggies and pushchairs are also very important items to people as they allow them to get out of the house and go to clinic appointments or meet with friends – a buggy can be the difference between people living in social isolation and not.

Best thing about working for Baby Basics:

Hearing the stories of families who had lived in worry and fear about what would happen when their baby came but were then able to start looking forward to meeting their baby and getting excited about their new arrival, because the immediate worry of not having the clothing and other basics needed had been lifted from them.

Thanks Hannah for answering our questions and filling us in a little more. I hope this raises awareness and helps our customers and followers understand why we've chosen Baby Basics as such a worthwhile and important charity cause for the second year in a row.