Referrals

If you support families who are vulnerable or experiencing hardship in Surrey or the surrounding area, you can make a referral to us on their behalf.

We supply a mixture of new/good condition pre-loved baby/children’s items – clothing, toys, equipment, toiletries – from birth up to age 16. Stripey Stork operate on a referrals only basis, which means families can’t self-refer. We accept referrals from a wide range of organisations – social workers, health visitors, family centres, food banks, women’s refuges, teachers and nurses. If you are a family in need of help, please ask a support agency or family support worker to make a referral on your behalf. For example, your local family centre can refer you (find your nearest Surrey family centre by borough/district).

Our service is free of charge and there is no assessment criteria, however, items will need to be collected from our offices in Reigate by the referral partner. Most importantly, we are always quick to respond to the referrals we receive as we know all too well the urgency behind these requests.

We have now opened a second site in Redhill where we will be running our School Days project from. The cost of providing school uniform, shoes and other essentials necessary for school puts a huge strain on finances, so we have been stocking up to meet demand. The referral process remains the same but collection of these items will be from Raven House, Linkfield Lane, Redhill .

Here's how to make a referral

1 You should use the online form here to make any referral request. You will need the following information:

Age/gender of each child (indicating if a different clothes size is required).
Any known interests for each child so we can customise the bundle accordingly.
The borough/postcode of the family.
The reason for the referral.
If the request is urgent/when the items are needed by.

2 You will receive a confirmation email once you have booked a collection slot. We will secondly, arrange a date/time for you to collect your items.

All referral requests that do not include school uniform will continue to be collected from our Reigate warehouse (term time only, between 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.

School uniform referrals will be collected, by appointment, from Raven House, Linkfield Road, Redhill.

3 Family support workers can join our Referrals mailing list and Referrals Facebook group to keep up-to-date with available items, referral news and, additionally, how our campaigns can help the families you support.

A rule which we live by at Stripey Stork is that our recipients should feel like they are receiving a gift and not a hand out. Therefore all of the pre-loved items we re-distribute are clean, stain-free and in good working order.

As well as our day-to-day operations, we are specifically well-placed in our community to undertake special projects as the need arises. See blog posts on our Bags4School, Easter Bags and Stork Sacks projects.

families helped so far this year

families helped since opening in 2013

Essentials for babies & children

Our warehouse is well-stocked with new and pre-loved items, so we are able to provide all of the essentials needed for babies and children. For a list of the items we stock (and don’t), please refer to the below list. There may be a waiting list for some of the larger, more popular items, such as prams.

What we do and don't stock

New baby packs for expectant mums

We can also provide beautifully packaged new baby packs for the expectant Mums on your caseload. Whenever possible, we also like to include some ‘pick-me-up’ items for the parents/carers - if you feel they would really benefit from one of these, please let us know.

School items

We understand that buying school items for children can be a costly overhead for parents who are already struggling. This is why we have collated this list of school items we can usually help with.
See our ‘Ready4School’ blog for more information.

Ready4School information

Mother's Day campaign - A Gift For Mum

Mother’s Day takes place on Sunday 19th March and once again we will be launching our Mother’s Day campaign, A gift for Mum. We are asking our supporters to donate new pampering gifts sets and you will be able to request them for Mums that you feel could do with a little boost or some recognition on Mother’s Day. Please add an ‘A gift for Mum’ pack to your referral for families in the usual way for collection after 20th February. As we have done in previous years, we will provide a handwritten card for Mum, if you would like this to be left blank for a child to write then please let us know when you come to collect. If you would like to have a stock of A gift for Mum packs to give out to Mums in the run up to Mother’s Day, please email us refer@stripeystork.org.uk.

Signposting other support services

Sometimes the requests we receive go beyond the remit of our resources and capabilities, so here’s a useful list of other support services.

Individual funding requests:

Buttle UK offers small grants for families/children falling into specific categories (usually in care or having fled domestic abuse).
It’s also worth taking a look at the Turn2Us website, which provides links to all the small grant making organisations locally (searchable by postcode).
The Reigate & Banstead Mayor’s Trust Fund assists the Borough’s less fortunate residents by providing support to help make a small difference in their lives. Small disbursements of usually around £50 (but up to a maximum of £750) are made to successful applicants.
The Surrey Crisis Fund is a discretionary fund run by Surrey County Council and provides financial help to Surrey residents who have nowhere else to turn during an emergency or following a disaster. It also can provide assistance to set up a home in the community where no other funds or resources are available. No specific deadlines. Apply 9-5pm Monday to Thursday.

Other services:

Local food banks such as Loveworks and St Matthew’s Church food bank, and The Trussell Trust national food banks network.
The District and Borough Council websites for information on financial and welfare support services available.
Local Citizens Advice Bureaus provide in person, online and telephone advice on issues such as debt management, benefits, housing, immigration and landlord-tenant disputes.
Furnistore based in Merstham, provides recycled furniture at very affordable prices. If proof of means tested benefits can be provided, then they offer a 50% discount on essential items. They are also welcome to a discussion if circumstances mean essential items are still unaffordable.
Reuse network is a useful secondhand furniture network, where you can search by item and area.
If we are located too far for you to collect, please consult our other UK baby banks map to see if there is a similar service closer to you.

We feel privileged to have helped many thousands of families to get back on their feet. See for yourself the impact of some of our Stork Stories.

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