Our April wish list is now here, along with donation days. Please take a look at the items we need, and if they match up with items you are looking to re-home, we can pass them on to families we are supporting.

Please book a donation slot. We operate a booking system so that we can manage the flow of donations. If you cannot make one of our donation days or the slots are filled, please email donate@stripeystork.org.uk to make alternative arrangements. 

Book a slot

There are some items that we can’t accept due to safety concerns, lack of space or little demand. Please take a look of the full list of items we can and cannot accept. 

Items we can/cannot accept

• Please ensure that any clothing is freshly washed, sorted by age and gender and labelled. For cots, prams and other equipment please ensure that the item is cleaned and includes all fixings or spare parts in a labelled bag and where possible include a manual. 

Our warehouse address: 51a Albert Road North, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 9EL.

Any queries please email donate@stripeystork.org.uk.

Thank you for your continued support – we need your lovely donations to keep supporting families in our community.

APRIL 2026

Girls clothing, shoes & coats 

• 0-3months/newborn
• 9-12months
• 12-18months
• 18-24months
• 2-3yrs
• 3-4yrs
• 4-9yrs
• 10-11yrs
• 11-12yrs
• Teen clothing adult sizes 12-16

Boys clothing, shoes & coats

• 0-3months/newborn
• 9-12months
• 3-4yrs
• 4-5yrs
• 6-7yrs
• 7-8yrs
• 8-9yrs
• 9-10yrs
• 10-11yrs
• Suitable teen clothing in adult sizes S, M, L, XL

Equipment

• Pram/Buggies
• Buggy boards
• Moses baskets & folding stands
• Cots/Cot beds/Toddler beds (less than 10 years old. No mattresses)
• Bed guards
• Bouncy chairs
• Playmats
• Changing mats & bags
• Muslins
• Bibs

Bedding  

• Baby sleeping bags (0-6 months)
• Baby cellular blankets
• Moses basket, cot, cot bed & single bed sheets
• Single duvet covers

Bathing

• Baby baths
• Reclining bath supports
• Hooded towels

Toys

• Baby toys suitable from birth
• Sorting/stacking toys
• Board and cloth books for babies
• Toddler toys (no large playsets)
• Board games and card games
• Teen books

Please make sure all toys have a CE mark on.

Toiletries

• New and unopened toiletries e.g. shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, deodorant etc.
• Nappies and wipes

School Uniform

• All non logo school uniform in all colours and all sizes including shirts, t-shirts, jumpers, cardigans, skirts, trousers, shorts, summer dresses
• PE kits items such as shorts, t-shirts in all colours and all sizes.
• New stationery items including pens, pencils, rulers, maths sets, highlighters, A4 pads.
• Our full school days wish list can be found here. 

We are well stocked with all other items, thank you!- 

Important notes when donating

• We are located in Reigate, Surrey and unfortunately cannot offer a collection service.
• Please do not bring donations at any other time and absolutely no donations to be left outside the warehouse when we are closed, thank you!
• We are operating a ‘drop-off‘ system – donors will drive into the car park and we can assist to unload donations at the warehouse doors.
• It will be a great help if you follow our usual guidelines for donating items – ensure all items are freshly laundered, pre-sorted by age/gender and in a condition which you’d be happy to donate to a friend. This means that we won’t put a strain on our already limited resources and we can re-home your items quickly. For more information on making a donation, see How to Donate.

We know you all have lots of items to offer, so we’ve prepared a page to show you where to take the items we are unable to accept at the moment – Other places to recycle and reuse in Surrey.

We also have an Amazon wish list of new items which we continually need to complement our pre-loved packs. The list is regularly updated as our stock changes and items are delivered straight to us where they are readily distributed.

Please email donate@stripeystork.org.uk if you have any queries regarding our Stripey Stork wish list donation sessions .

Thank you for your support Team Stork

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A new government report shows a continued rise in children in the UK growing up trapped in poverty – this figure now sits at 4.1 million, with 70% of those coming from working households*.

During the school holidays, the detrimental effects of poverty on children’s health increases – as lack of affordable childcare, costly activities to keep them entertained and food worries are at their worst.

Families who rely on free school meals during term time face an added financial pressure to provide a main meal during school holidays. It is estimated that the loss of free school meals is between £30-£40 a week per child**. A lot of money for those already living on the breadline.

This, combined with the cost of activities to keep children entertained, means the thought of school holidays fills such families with dread, rather than excitement.

We recently had the opportunity to be involved in a project which will help alleviate some of the additional pressures brought on by school holidays for local families – we were very keen to help where we could.

Loveworks, a Reigate community charity and foodbank, started the project after they were contacted by a few local schools last summer over concerns that those children who were depending on free school lunches may go hungry in the holidays. Loveworks had also noticed a substantial increase in families, with children, accessing their foodbanks over the summer.

Following discussions with a local Children’s Centre, they decided to run a trial project to provide relief for the nearly 150 struggling families on their caseload. For the Easter holiday period, Loveworks have provided lunch boxes and some healthy lunch ingredients to help those families who may otherwise have struggled to provide food and would also benefit from being inspired by healthy lunch ideas.

The lunchboxes were filled with food such as wraps, cheese, fruit, veg and snacks, which were low in fat, salt and sugar. Recipe sheets were also included, full of easy, affordable and healthy packed lunch ideas to help fill the gap so the children don’t go hungry and their families aren’t pushed any further into food poverty and insecurity.

So, we put our heads together on how we could also help and our ‘Easter bags’ project was born. We sourced some reusable and bright drawstring bags (blue and orange of course!), and filled them with new pens, pencils, colouring paper and crafts along with books, games, puzzles and small toys we already had in stock. We ensured the contents were suitable for children in preschool, nursery and reception.

We were also able to donate some branded water bottles to complement Loveworks’ lunchboxes.

These goodies will give the children plenty of opportunities to play, with some downtime and educational activities to match. Whenever they utter those dreaded words “I’m bored!”, then they’ll be reminded of their bag full of entertainment. The fact that the items fit into a child-sized handy bag means that they can bring them whilst out and about, for example to any of the great, local parks in our area.

The bags were dropped off today (Friday 5th April 2019), in time to be distributed to the children just before the school bell rung.

A very special thanks to Elaine and Nancy, two of our dedicated volunteers, who have done a brilliant job in coordinating this project and were on-hand to deliver the bags today.

Loveworks were also in the playground handing out the packs and showing the children how to fold the wraps, and discuss ideas of what they could put in them.

Here’s some feedback from the Children’s Centre involved in the project:

“The Easter holiday project has been a fantastic way, we as a Children’s Centre, along with local charities can help to support families with the additional costs they face over the Easter holidays. Many children receive free school meals which means parents have higher food costs during school holidays and the additional pressures of finding things to keep children entertained can put additional strain on families financially. Approximately 150 bags have been given out, the parents and children have been thrilled to receive them.”

Thank you to Caitlyn, a very kind young lady who asked friends and family for donations of colouring pens and pencils to Stripey Stork, instead of Birthday presents this year. Thanks to this act of kindness, we were able to use them in the Easter bags.

A shout-out also to Phoebe, who asked for donations to Stripey Stork for her recent Birthday. It’s because of funds like this that we are able to support special projects like the Easter bags. We are so proud of these special young ladies in being grateful for everything they already have and showing such empathy to others.

Thank you to Loveworks and everyone involved in making this project happen. It highlights how different organisations can work together to address a real need in the community. Each having its own strengths and resources, but together doing even more amazing things.

* https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-199495-to-201718
** The All Party Parliamentary Group on Hunger – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-39697216

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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!

The post Mum2Mum2019 makes a record difference appeared first on Stripey Stork.

So, what does this have to do with International Women’s Day we hear you ask?

Well it’s the journey it made, and the women that made it possible – we believe they should be celebrated.

The donor

This brand new Mountain Buggy was sent to us by Natural Baby Shower. Double buggies are usually in short supply at Stripey Stork so it’s always exciting when we receive one. Lauren and the team at NBS made this happen as part of the partnership with us that they recently announced. They wanted this ex-display item to be re-homed where it would make a real difference and they trusted Stripey Stork to make that happen.

The company was founded by Victoria Hampson in 2007 – an inspiring women and Mum with a passion for parenting, the environment and a desire to make baby shopping simpler. We share so many of the same values and couldn’t be more pleased that we’re going to be working with NBS.

The referral source

At Stripey Stork we work with such caring community partners and Sallie from the Cobham & Banstead Community Midwife Team is no exception. She was keen to help a family on her caseload – the Mum has a seven month old baby and a toddler and, since the birth of the second child, had been using an old stroller which was unsuitable and unsafe for transporting a toddler. This was sadly her only option as buying one, even second hand, was out of the question.

Sallie explained that before the team knew about Stripey Stork, the Community Midwives at Epsom had gathered together suitable equipment, clothing, toys, food and toiletries for the family. Incredible women exceeding the expectations of their role and coming together to support other women.

The recipient

The Mum in question had a particularly difficult upbringing involving drugs and prescription medicine. After losing her own mother at a young age, she suffered from ongoing mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. With very little family support, both emotionally and financially, it’s been a tough time. But, she is managing to turn her life around with the support of others and is solely focussed on the health and wellbeing of her children. Her persistence and determination are to be applauded.

Making A Difference

So, when we were able to contact Sallie this week to pass on the good news that we had a double buggy for Mum, she knew this was going to be life-changing for them. She quickly came to collect it as she knew Mum would be keen to start using it.

Sallie reported back the next day and told us that this ‘freedom machine’ had already allowed Mum to attend her Community Mental Health Support Group getting the children there safely. One of the many journeys she’ll be able to make using the buggy as she continues her progress and raises her children. And it obviously means such a lot to her – one of the support team there saw her padlocking it outside the centre to make sure her precious new buggy was left secure.

Our team take such care to match the items we receive to the referrals on our list, and in this scenario once again, we got it just right. With space being such a premium in the family flat, it can be folded down and comfortably tucked behind the sofa. It’s also manageable for her to carry down one flight of stairs with two kids in tow.

Mum summed it up: “This buggy is awesome!”

For us it’s another referral marked as ‘completed’ and once again made possible by a group of amazing women. From the donors to the Stripey Stork donation and referrals team. From the referral source to the grateful recipient. We all share the same belief – that children deserve the same start – and by working together we have once again made a difference.

On International Women’s Day we salute them and all of #TeamStork.

The post Amazing women making a difference appeared first on Stripey Stork.

In Surrey*, data suggests that it is low income families which are experiencing poor levels of school readiness, so we want to ensure that we are doing everything possible to support the local health professionals who rely on our services to help the families on their caseload.

Here’s a useful list of how Stripey Stork can help with many of the items needed in preparation for this transition:

Books

We have a continuous supply of  books for all ages and levels here at Stripey Stork. The condition is always checked before our book bag bundles are made-up by age.

Books at home support being read to, holding a book and turning the pages, understanding aspects of the narrative and, being able to talk about the characters.

Reading is also a great opportunity for children and parents to bond – which is why a book bundle is always included for every child referred to us.

Toys

We have an abundance of good condition toys which teach children all about the world around them. From small world toys which they can immerse themselves in play with and let their imaginations run wild, to role play toys where they can learn how to best deal with certain situations and practise qualities such as good manners, taking responsibility and sharing.

If there is a particular toy request that you have then please ask and if we don’t have this in stock, we may be able to get hold of one for you.

Games

We have a great selection of educational games, from phonics and counting, to problem-solving and memory recall.

Stationery

Every child loves a pencil case, its treasured contents and writing/colouring books. We can put a bundle together which will have them skipping through those school gates on the first day.

Toilet Training

Schools strongly encourage all children to be toilet trained and using the toilet independently by the time they start school. We can support this often difficult quest by providing a potty, training seat, pull ups and spare pants, helping to ensure they have a good start from day one and embarrassing accidents are minimised.

Feeding Equipment

School lunchtime can be a real challenge for those children who are unable to adequately feed themselves – let us help if one of your families needs any plates, bowls, training cups, bowls and cutlery.

Toiletries

Personal hygiene is so important for a child’s confidence. We have shelves of toiletry supplies, such as body wash, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste. We understand that for families desperately struggling to put food on the table, such products can be a luxury item which they can’t always afford.

Schools Bags

We always have a supply of school rucksacks for children to keep all of their special school belongings together. We ensure we have a variety of designs to match different personalities and interests. We want them to feel proud wearing it!

We can provide lunchboxes for those children who are planning to take a packed lunch to school, getting this in plenty of time means you can encourage picnics before they start school – this will help with their independence in taking off their own yogurt lids, opening packets and peeling fruit. And no school bag would be complete without a brand new, leak proof water bottle to keep refreshed throughout the day.

Clothes

We always keep a range of standard school uniform shirts, trousers, skirts and dresses. As well as plimsolls and school shoes – we appreciate that the cost of these alone can be a real financial burden, especially if there are siblings to buy for too.

Wearing appropriate outdoor clothes to brave the elements of the school run is so important to start and end the school day positively. We are well-stocked with winter coats which we save all year round for when the colder weather strikes. Often pupils are required to keep a spare pair of wellies at school for outside play, which can be an added financial burden, so ask and we’ll try and help.

Role Play/Dressing up Clothes

Once school has started, then the party invitations will start flooding in. We are able to supply party clothes and as many birthday parties around this age group are fancy dress themed – we can definitely help any young spidermans or princesses get into character with our costume supply. Then there’s World Book Day on 7th March this year – see our blog on how we supplied 51 costumes to a local school last year.

Buggies

If a family lives quite a distance from school and has younger children in tow, they may benefit from a buggy, where previously this was no longer required. Sometimes it’s the small adjustments which can make all the difference to a child’s attendance – as is demonstrated in this story of a family we were able to help by easing their walk to and from nursery.

And Remember…

All of the requests we receive are made to order and specific to each child – we want them to feel special. We also want the parents/carers to feel like they are receiving a gift and not a hand out – so we pride ourselves on only redistributing items in excellent condition. We understand how dignity and self-esteem are more important than ever when life isn’t going your way!

Being school-ready is something which parents may feel anxious about, but the important thing is that any gaps in readiness are identified early and steps are put in place to ensure a child is developing the necessary skills required.

Then they’ll be ready, steady, go – to reach their full potential once school has started.

Please remember, we are unable to respond to direct requests from individual families, but if you speak with your healthcare professional or local Sure Start Centre then they’ll be able to make a referral on your behalf. All referrals should be made to refer@stripeystork.org.uk from the health professional’s work email address.

*Source: https://www.surreyi.gov.uk

The post Stripey Stork helping families get Ready4School appeared first on Stripey Stork.

Many of the Mums that we help won’t receive a gift on 31st March. Mums without partners, friends or family to recognise the difficult but amazing job they’re doing. Mums who go without all year round to provide for their children. We want to let them know that they are doing a fantastic job and we are thinking of them – local families helping local families.

Mum to Mum.

Last year we provided 227 gifts for Mums (accompanied by a handwritten card designed for Stripey Stork) and this year we’re aiming for 300.

How you can help

Buy one of our exclusive Mother’s Day cards – This year we have teamed up with Emily, the local illustrator behind Doodlemoo, who has designed our very own Mother’s Day card. We just love her colourful and funky design, perfect for the special Mum in your life. They are now on sale to the general public, with sales proceeds being used to support this campaign. We’ll also be including one with every Mother’s Day gift given to the Mums which we support.

The card is on sale for £2.50, with the option to pay an additional £2.50 (recommended donation) to include an insert (see blue postcard in below photo) which states that “a gift has been donated on your behalf to a Mum in need”. Your Mum/Mum-in-Law or Grandma will appreciate that you were thinking of others, as well as them.

As well as being available to buy from our HQ, they can now be purchased from the following locations:

• Gerrards in Reigate.
• The Reigate Pop-up Shop, where you can browse more of Doodlemoo’s products, as well as those from other local talented artists. Please note, card only (with no insert) is for sale at this location.
• TSB in the Belfry Shopping Centre, Redhill.
• The Peekaboo Play Cafe in Holmwood, near Dorking.
• Imagineville on Quarryside Business Park in Merstham.
• The Natural Baby Shower in Bagshot.
• Online at Becky Pearce Designs for those who can’t get to the shops or don’t live locally – with an extra £1 being charged to cover P&P.

We’d like to thank the above businesses for supporting our campaign, please do pop in and show your support and gratitude.

We’d love to see the cards standing proud on your mantelpiece so please share on social media using the hashtag #Mum2Mum2019 (and tagging @StripeyStork).

Buy a necklace from Becky Pearce Designs – Local jeweller Becky Pearce Designs is offering two of her beautifully handcrafted necklaces for sale this Mother’s Day, with 20% of sales going towards our campaign:

1. Teeny Silver Heart Pendant £25
2. Birthstone Charm Necklace £42

She’s also conveniently created a Mother’s Day package, where you can add one of our Mother’s Day cards to your shopping cart.

Donate online – Show another Mum you care by donating to our campaign fund via Localgiving. For just £5 we will arrange a mini pamper pack to be sent to each Mum referred to us. We also benefit from bulk purchase discounts to ensure your donation goes even further. You can make your donation here at any time until Mother’s Day (Sunday 31st March). And not forgetting that all important 25% gift aid if you’re a UK tax payer.

Donate a gift set* – Pick up a toiletry gift set whilst out shopping. Or, if you have any unwanted items at home that you can donate – a toiletry gift set received at Christmas perhaps that you haven’t yet opened, or gift bags in good condition – then we can rehome them too. Please note, we are not accepting make-up donations, as this type of item is dependent on personal preference and we do not have direct contact with the Mums we support.

Why not organise a collection amongst friends, colleagues or a community group you are a part of? Details of times you can drop items at our offices in Redhill can be found here. Don’t forget to share your donations on social media using the hashtag #Mum2Mum2019 (and tag @StripeyStork). We love to see people getting involved and it also encourages others to do the same.

Buy a gift from our Amazon Wish list – We’ve added some popular gift sets to this dedicated wish list, making it super easy for you to help as items are delivered straight to our office. A popular choice for those who want to buy a tangible gift but are too busy to drop the gift to us or don’t live/work in the local area. We’ll keep topping up the list as items are bought and we spot any good offers, so one to keep checking.

The gift that keeps on giving

Subject to availability, any gift packs leftover after Mother’s Day will be distributed in the weeks following. If we are lucky enough to have even more left after this period, then we will be including them with our ‘care packages’ sent throughout the year to local families in need – as a gift to Mum if it’s felt that it will be a well-received boost at this difficult time. Likewise, any funds leftover will also be used to support our general work throughout the year.

Thank you for your support.

The post Mum2Mum 2019 appeared first on Stripey Stork.

Many of the Mums that we help won’t receive a gift on 11th March. So many of them go without to provide for their children and we want to let them know that we’re thinking of them – local families helping local families.

Mum to Mum.

Last year we provided a gift for a young mum aged 16 who had been referred to us for support. Her baby had arrived 4 weeks early and they were doing so well despite her own mother not wanting to be involved with them. We were able to ensure this new mum had a little treat on her first Mothering Sunday.

Last year we provided 184 gifts for Mums and this year we’re aiming for 300.

How you can help:

Donate online. Show another Mum you care by donating just £5. We will then arrange a mini ‘pamper pack’ for each mum referred to us, making bulk purchase discounts to ensure your donation goes even further. You can make your donation here at any time until Mother’s Day (Sunday 11th March).

Donate a gift set. If you have items at home that you can donate – a beauty gift set received at Christmas that you haven’t yet opened, or gift bags in good condition – then we can rehome them too. Why not organise a collection in your workplace or community group?
Details of times you can drop these off at our offices in Redhill can be found here.

NEW FOR THIS YEAR – Buy one of our exclusive Mother’s Day Cards! Coming soon is our very own Mother’s Day card created just for Stripey Stork. As well as offering them for sale – they’ll be perfect for the special mum in your life – we’ll ensure that every mum gets one with her gift.

They’ve been designed for us by the amazing Fine Letter Co. and we’re very excited to have them printed – watch this space for more details very soon.

The packs and cards will be included with our upcoming deliveries in the lead in to Mother’s Day and (subject to numbers) in the weeks after.

So, how about you skip your take-away coffee and croissant for a day this week and sponsor one of these packs instead?

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What an incredible day. Today was the #SantaStork2017 giving day. It really does get more extraordinary every single year.

We started early and loaded up all the gifts that we’d collected thanks to your support.

Lots of cars and a van were loaded up and taken to the hall we’d booked for our giving day.

Thanks to all your help, generosity and support, we were ready to pass out gift bags filled to the brim with goodies for 874 children and 385 of their parents and carers – isn’t that fantastic!

UPDATE: including the last minute requests we were able to give out gift bags for 1040 children and 438 of their parents and carers. 

The referral sources we work with came and collected the presents they’d requested for the families they support. All the presents were brand new and, in almost all cases, were items that the family or children has specifically requested.

Goods valuing £38,000 have been distributed, and they were sent with the very best wishes from everyone involved in supporting the campaign.

We were delighted to welcome Cllr Barbara Thomson and show her the wrapping day in full flow!

It was humbling to talk to the professionals about the difference the gifts would make; professionals who are supporting vulnerable local families all year around. We heard so many stories about how the gifts being collected were literally the only things the children would receive on Christmas Day.

Without Santa Stork, and your kindness, these local children wouldn’t be receiving anything.

We had a full house of ‘wrapping elves’ today, with help from a record number of people. It was so good to see lots of regular Stripey Stork faces, as well as plenty of new ones, particularly from some of the corporate teams who’ve helped us with our collections this year.

We’re very grateful to those who took time out of their busy schedule to come and lend a hand. You can’t beat #TeamStork for team spirit and there was a wonderful atmosphere in the hall.

We were also delighted to be speaking with That’sTV Surrey today who kindly came along to see the culmination of #SantaStork2017 after they featured our launch back in October.

You can watch their feature here:

https://youtu.be/pWLJkm00jyY

We were also featured on BBC Radio Surrey this morning on this link, which if you go to 1 hour 23 minutes you’ll hear Chief Elf Lauren speaking about Nicola setting up the charity and explaining about Santa Stork.

Of course none of this was possible without the support we received from so many:

• All of our supporters who donated online, shopped from our Amazon wish list, or went out and bought a present using our suggested gifts. Your generosity is humbling – THANK YOU!
• All our wonderful referral sources who made a request and then who collected and distributed gifts
• Localgiving and their #GrowYourTenner match funding scheme. We raised an additional £580 which effectively meant new presents for an extra 50 children!
• Cllr Barbara Thomson for her Surrey County Council community grant which covered rental of the storage space we needed to run the project and the purchase of gift bags
• In Kind Direct and Disney Store UK for the 48 Olaf soft toys as part of the #GiftMagic campaign
• Andy Nash and the team at the Belfry  for helping at the giving day, including us to benefit from the Santa’s Grotto charity donations, providing gifts for Santa Stork and allowing us to promote the charity in the centre via wrapping days and being at the big Christmas light switch on with James and Ola!
• Celtic Contractors Ltd who got involved for the 4^thyear. All 40 staff purchased gifts in their now annual collection.
• Oakhyrst Grange School who collected toys at their school fair
• The parents at Holmesdale Community Infant School who collected stocking fillers
• Dunnottar School who raised over £300 to buy presents from our Amazon wishlist
• Our friends at Halliwell Marks, Walter & Mair, Pistachios Memorial Park, Redhill, TSB in The Belfry, and Let’s Explore, Horley who were so accommodating in allowing people to drop off presents at their premises
• The talented Shona Gow who produced the Santa Stork Activity Pack and Thank You Certificate available to all those who donated online or bought a gift, and our lovely Christmas card
• Caterham WI  who collected gifts and purchased stocking fillers with the proceeds of the raffle. They also provided volunteers for the wrapping weekend at The Belfry.
• Karl Hyder, AKA the man and a van! who helped bring the gifts from HQ to the wrapping location on the day
• Allianz Global Assistance UK – helped with wrapping gifts and staff raised £256.02
• Luxury beauty brand Jurlique who generously donated 300 products for mums with a value of £9660
• Redhill and Reigate Round Table no.119  who kindly made a donation of £500
• All Things Chic – proceeds from Red Barn shopping event raised enough to buy 20 items on our wish list
• Mila and Mateo who sold Halloween glowsticks after school raising £56 which we used to buy 180 packs of chocolate coins
• Milk + Poop who created a Black Friday shopping deal which meant we received a lovely box of brightly coloured cuddly toys and cellular blankets
• The ladies from Pfizer who helped sort presents on their volunteer day and who gathered their teams together at their offices in a campaign to generously donate selected age group’s gifts
• Bailhache Linton who made a donation in lieu of sending Christmas cards and helped out in the office during a CSR day
• Willis Towers Watson who came to sort through gifts during two CSR days
• Metro Bank – sorting gifts at CSR day
• IHS Markit, Coulsdon who helped prepare gift bags and who also collected lots of gifts and stocking fillers
• M&S Redhill who chose Stripey Stork as their annual charity and held an instore staff collection for Santa Stork 2017
• Horley Tangent who donated time at the wrapping days in The Belfry and held a shopping evening raising £700
• Corrine Yates and family who bought, raised money and collected so many items from Southern Housing
• That’s TV Surrey for featuring our story
• Horley Evening WI for their cheque for £160
• RBBC Town Hall who took delivery of all the Amazon parcels from the wish list and delivered them to us
• Bargains4Ever Redhill – contributing toys and allowing us to purchase items at cost price
• The Local Handyman for donating online and buying chocolate section boxes
• Emilia Hunt who donated some of her beautiful hand made fabric goods
• Redhill Confetti who donated craft packs for some of the children
• Esure who donated gifts and stocking fillers
• 3FEV who donated specific Tesla items for a young fanatic on our list!
• Tim’s Pastry Club who donated treats for the wrapping tables – yum!
• Nicola Churchill from Co-Tribe who held a collection and donated some gifts
• The communications team at Grant Thornton International who helped with campaign planning and with getting videos ready to share on our social media channels
• Tesco Community Champions who organised an in-store collection of gifts which was generously supported by Tesco Gatwick shoppers
• The team at the PNL Centre, St Joseph’s Church Hall for making us so welcome and for allowing us to use the hall as a discount rate
• And finally… our amazing Santa Stork team of volunteers – Jenny, Margarida, Nicola, Megan, Angie, Emma, Lisa, Andrea, Sarah C, Sarah S all ably led by Chief Elf Lauren.

Merry Christmas everyone xx

The post Santa Stork 2017 – our giving day appeared first on Stripey Stork.

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The post Christmas crafts for children appeared first on Stripey Stork.