Mum2Mum2019 makes a record difference

What a result for this year’s #Mum2Mum campaign – we can now report that a total of 529 gift bags have been distributed to local Mums in need in time for Mother’s Day.

That’s 529 happier Mums who will receive an acknowledgement from their children on this special day – one which may not have been made possible if it wasn’t for this invaluable campaign.

This year we felt privileged to hear back from one of the Mums who had received a gift pack and wanted to express her gratitude in telling us what it meant to her. She had recently left an abusive relationship and had been pleasantly surprised when in the immediate days which followed, her local Children’s Centre had put her name forward for receiving a pack.

“I was quite tearful to receive such an amazing gift. As my daughter is only 3, I had come to the conclusion any Mother’s Day gifts I received would be ones I paid for. This just changed it all! Knowing there are people empathising with your struggles and offering kindness and support is just so uplifting and heart warming.”

The realisation for her that there are people out there offering support – helping to pick her up and encouraging her to stay strong with such moments of kindness, meant everything when she was at an all-time low. She also commented on the quality of the branded toiletries included and couldn’t wait to use them to help her relax after the hardest week.

We also had one Mum’s appreciation passed on via one of our referral partners, East Surrey Domestic Abuse Service (ESDA):

“Please pass on my thanks, it was such a joy opening the bag and seeing all the things. There were mini size creams of a brand I love which I can’t afford to buy. It was all absolutely lovely and I really appreciated it.”

We know that this is a campaign which resonates with so many of you. Whether that’s because you realise that being a Mum can be the hardest job in the world, and you understand that if everything else was stacked against you, how much harder it would be to keep your head above water.

Whether it’s because you’ve been at rock bottom and know what it’s like to be picked up by the kindness of others.

Or whether it’s because you feel strongly that no Mum should be forgotten – regardless of whether or not they have a partner or family support network to arrange such recognition.

Whatever the reason – please know that once again a difference has been made in our little corner of the world and that’s thanks to everyone involved. In particular, we’d like to say a special thank you to the following:

• Our lovely volunteers who so lovingly put the packs together and included a handwritten Mother’s Day card with their words of encouragement.
• Our referral partners for looking after the Mums on their caseloads so well, and coordinating the ordering and collection of gifts.
• Everyone who purchased items from our Amazon wish list or who dropped gifts off at the office.
• Becky Pearce Designs for donating 20% of the sales from two of her most popular necklaces, and for being our online Mother’s Day card shop.
• Doodlemoo for designing this year’s Stripey Stork Mother’s Day card. And to our local card sellers – Gerrards, The Reigate Pop-up Shop, Imagineville, TSB in the Belfry Shopping Centre, Redhill and The Peekaboo Café near Dorking.
• The Peanut App for including us in their #SantaIsAWoman campaign – we were able to save the more luxurious items to be included in our Mother’s Day packs which have been very well received.
• IHS Markit and esure for their gift donations and giving us the opportunity to sell cards during their lunch break.
• Tropics Skincare for donating products from their beautiful range for this campaign and all your round.
• The Hygiene Bank who arranged for us to collect a bumper collection of toiletries that were perfect as gifts.
• Outwood WI who organised a collection of items at one of their meetings and delivered it to us.
• The Natural Baby Shower for donating 1% of their sales this Mother’s Day to Stripey Stork, and for selling our charity cards in their Bagshot store.
• The Guilty Mummy for helping us to spread the word.

That just leaves one more thing to say – Happy Mother’s Day to all of the fantastic Mums out there! We hope you have a special day to remember, you deserve it!