The comfort blanket wrapped in kindness

“She immediately wrapped herself up in the blanket and this has continued to bring her joy.”

We were recently contacted by a repeat referral partner who needed specific items and needed them quickly – she knew we’d be able to help!

A 15 year old girl had been placed under her care, being detained under the Mental Health Act. When we were told her story, it was no surprise as to why she was in desperate need of psychiatric care. Up until now, her life has been a catalogue of neglect, which tragically included domestic and sexual abuse. After such a bad start in life, everyone whose care she is now under is desperately trying to bring her back to the person she should be.

When she arrived at her current location, she’d been living in extreme poverty and only possessed the clothes she was wearing. A package was quickly put together by our volunteers, which consisted of a week’s worth of clothes, toiletries, age appropriate books and craft items. One specific request from herself was a ‘comfort blanket’, so she could snuggle up to it and it would sooth her throughout the night.

Thanks to the gifts in kind we’ve been receiving from The All In One Company, we had the softest blanket already in stock and ready to go. We also thought she’d love one of their fun onesies, so included one to keep her warm this winter.

Her care worker reported back to us the girl’s excitement on receiving the bundle: “She immediately wrapped herself up in the blanket and this has continued to bring her joy.”

Due to the immediate care which she currently needs, she has no family or friends living near her right now. These gifts have brought her comfort and the reassurance that there are people out there, people she’ll never meet, who genuinely care and have her best interests at heart.

We exist to bridge the gap between what children and families need, and what is accessible to them. The referral partners we work so closely with are over-stretched – they don’t have the resources or funding needed to meet these specific requests, but thankfully we do! All made possible because of the amazing support we receive.

Being Stripey Stork, we couldn’t let this story end there. With Christmas fast approaching and Santa Stork being in full swing, she has of course been added to our Christmas list. A personal gift for her has been included amongst the other requests we’ve received for all the children so far.

This year we expect to distribute 2000 gifts to local children in need, just like this young lady. Children who would otherwise have nothing to celebrate or be thankful for this Christmas. Where possible, we like to include a main gift which the child has specifically requested.

Let’s see what Santa brings, but with Team Stork on the case, we’ll be trying our hardest to make her, and all of the other children’s wishes come true. And so they should! If we can add a little sunshine this Christmas to these already broken lives, then we’ve done what we set out to achieve.

There are many ways to support Santa Stork 2019:

• Buy a specific gift from our Amazon wish list
• Donate to our online Santa Stork appeal
• Buy from our suggested list of popular gift items, for more details see the dedicated Santa Stork page

Thank you for making Christmas!