She found the doll she left behind in Ukraine

A few weeks ago, Stripey Stork posted details of how our Surrey Baby Bank was planning to support local families who are opening their homes to Ukrainian Refugees with children aged 0-16. You can read more on our Ukrainian families appeal page.

Most of the families will arrive with just a few belongings that they were able to fit into a small bag. A terribly sad situation and we have been told that 90% of the refugees are women with children.  Having left all their familiar belongings behind, they will need clothing, bedding, cots, buggies, equipment, toys and books.

Our community generously responded – so many of you got in touch to ask how you could help and donated items from our wishlist, as well as donating to our appeal page to enable us to buy things we need to complement the packs of pre-loved items that we give out.

Helping our first host families

Our first host family got in touch to say that they were expecting a mum and her 2-year-old daughter, Veronika.

When they came to the warehouse to collect the items they needed, little Veronika stole our hearts!  We had prepared clothes, shoes, toys, a high chair, bed guard, potty training kit, nappies and toiletries for them. We really wanted Veronika to be able to also pick her own toy. We showed her upstairs to our toy section and couldn’t believe our eyes when she picked out a doll exactly like the one she had to leave behind. This was such a special moment and there was not a dry eye around.

We cannot begin to comprehend what Veronika and her family are going through but to have been able to put a smile on her face and make life a bit easier for mum and the host family is just priceless

Stripey Stork in the news

This story really touched us and we wanted to share it with our supporters. There was lots of interest in Veronika and the work we are doing to support Ukrainian families arriving in Surrey and the story was picked up by national news outlets.

Our CEO and Founder Nicola was interviewed on BBC Breakfast news – available to view on our YouTube Channel. The story was so popular that it was the third most viewed story on the BBC website.

It was lovely to be able to share details about helping little Veronika, and to explain more about the work that Stripey Stork does all year round.

How you can help

The coverage has generated many messages and we really appreciate every offer of support.   Over 700 families have now been matched across Surrey so we’re expecting an increase in referrals over the next few weeks.   Our volunteers have worked hard to make sure we are ready – our warehouse is well stocked and we’re delighted to be able to help.  If you would like to help, there are several ways to do so including making a donation to the appeal page, donating items on our wishlist, volunteering or organising a fundraiser.