Ardfern mums set up baby bank to help empower parents
Two mums from Ardfern have set up a ‘baby bank’ to ensure new parents from Oban to Campbeltown are not left without essentials, writes Kathie Griffiths.
Bonnie Stephen and Clair Smith started Tiny Treasures Baby Bank after noticing a need in the surrounding areas.
‘Between us we have seven children and like any one of you reading this each have our own stories of what life can throw at you when raising precious little ones and how challenging it can be,’ they said.
‘After seeing 100 baby banks open up across the UK and seeing first hand the need in our own local area, we decided to launch Tiny Treasures Baby Bank to equip families from Oban to Campbeltown, who, for whatever reason, find themselves unable to obtain even the basics.’
On the project’s Facebook page, Bonnie and Clair, who are the first point of contact for Tiny Treasures, said: ‘Through Tiny Treasures we want you to feel empowered in caring for your little one and one small part of this is to equip you with some of the items that you might need over the first year of your little one’s life as well as some new mum essentials.’
People can be referred to Tiny Treasures through a variety of different routes, such as midwives, health visiting teams, emergency housing officers, Hope Kitchen in Oban, the Red Cross in Campbeltown, and also through the police.
However, as it can be ‘daunting’ to ask health care professionals for help in this manner, the Tiny Treasures also accepts self-referrals.
To find out more, or to donate, search Tiny Treasures Baby Bank on Facebook or find them by going to www.tinytreasuresbabybank.co.uk