We supply a mixture of new/good condition pre-loved baby/children’s items – clothing, toys, equipment, toiletries – from birth up to age 18. Stripey Stork operate on a referrals only basis, which means families can’t self-refer. We accept referrals from a wide range of organisations – food banks, schools, citizen advice, housing associations, family centres, GP’s and health services, children’s services, domestic abuse support services, the police and any other professional supporting families.
Our service is free of charge and there is no assessment criteria. Requested items will need to be collected from our offices in Reigate by the referral partner or contact us about delivery.
We are always quick to respond to the referrals we receive as we know all too well the urgency behind these requests – we can usually respond in 48 hours.
If you are a family needing support, please reach out to a professional who can submit a request on your behalf. Full details are here.
Essential items such as clothing, cots, prams and highchairs, for children aged 0-18
Toiletries, nappies, toys, and books throughout the year
School uniform items all year round including shirts, trousers, skirts, dresses, PE kits, and shoes
Christmas presents for children, Eid gifts, Mother's day gifts
If you have children aged 0-18 and live in Surrey or Croydon then please see our referral process below:
Wait for your items: Your referral partner will pick up the items from us and arrange to get them to you. You do not have to travel to us.
You should use the online form here to make any referral request. We have two forms available – the general referral form and the School Days referral form. You will need to provide the following information:
We will send you a conformation email, please book your collection or delivery via the link in this email
Collecting items from our general referral for: Collection will be from our Reigate warehouse (Monday to Thursday, 9:30am-1:30pm). Our storage space is limited so we appreciate arranging prompt collections. Please allow plenty of time to be shown how to assemble and operate the larger items, such as cots and prams.
Collecting school items: Collection will be from Raven House, Linkfield Lane, Redhill, RH1 1SS.
Collecting both general items and school items: complete both forms and book your collection or delivery for both via the link sent to you in your confirmation emails. Unless otherwise arranged, collection for general referrals will be from Reigate and School Days will be from Raven House, Redhill.
Delivery: We have delivery hub options around Surrey and Croydon. When you receive the booking link, please have a look at the “Open to all” options on the list and select one you can travel to.
Our mission is to be there for every family in Surrey and Croydon who needs us. We have delivery hubs in Farnham, Guildford, Woking, Staines, Tandridge and Croydon.
Any family with children aged 0-18 years, who are in financial hardship, can get help from us. That means, if you are struggling to pay for essentials, and going without things you and your children need. Our service is focused on Surrey and Croydon, so it will be easier to get help from us if you live in those areas.
No. Our service is available with a referral – meaning a professional person supporting your family will need to contact us on your behalf. That means you don’t have to give any personal information, or collect anything from us – the person who refers you should do that for you.
We know that you might not already have a person in mind who can refer you. Don’t worry – we take referrals from a really wide range of organisations.
Lots of schools and nurseries make referrals to us, and if yours hasn’t done this before, please encourage them to do so – any school or nursery can refer.
You could also ask another charity or supportive group – a foodbank you have visited, or a church you’re part of, for example.
There are also advice services that are open to anyone, like Citizen’s Advice – you can phone them or if there is one near you, you can visit them. You can find out where your nearest one is using the link on our website on the ‘get help’ page.
You can also approach a charity like Homestart, who support families with children under 5 years.
Although we know it can be hard to ask for help, many organisations and professionals will already know about us and will be used to making referrals. If they’re not, you can show them our website, which explains how easy it is to refer to us.
We don’t ask for any evidence. Talk to the person who is going to refer you about your situation. They can confirm to us that you need support.
We won’t ask for any names or addresses of your family. Just information that helps us give you the right items, like the age, or clothing and shoe size, of your children, and your postcode, so we can see where our help is needed.
We encourage families to donate items that are in really good condition, for re-use, to save waste and help others. So while many of our items provided are pre-loved, all are checked and cleaned to make sure that what comes to the family receiving it is a lovely gift that will be useful and of good quality. A lot of baby items get only lightly used and are still in excellent condition when they are passed on to us.
Within the bundles we provide, some items are new, and items like mattresses and bottles will always be new for hygiene reasons.
All equipment is checked for safety, and things like beds, buggies and highchairs have to meet a British Safety Standard to make sure they are safe to use.
There’s information on this page about what we can provide. The person who refers you should also be able to help explain what we can give you. There isn’t a limit on how much you can ask for – we suggest you make a list and talk it through with them. They can refer you again if you need more help.
There are a few things we can’t help with:
We know that children grow and circumstances change which is why you can ask to be referred to us multiple times. There is no limit.
Everything we provide is given out through a referral from a professional, and will be collected by them.
Our site isn’t open to drop-in visitors due to being a working warehouse environment where we store and check items.
We do welcome volunteers😊 and we love to hear from families we’ve helped, so if you would like to get in touch with any feedback for us, please do.
Sometimes the requests we receive go beyond the remit of our resources and capabilities, so here’s a useful list of other support services.
If you are a professional supporting families outside of Surrey and Croydon, please take a look at the map above. There are over 300 baby banks across the UK and one of them may be able to help you.
51a Albert Road North
Reigate
Surrey
RH2 9EL
Registered as a charity in England and Wales 1161613
Our focus is the Surrey region and bordering areas. If you are in a different region, see map of UK baby banks to find one near you.
