Stylish ‘Not On The High Street’ seller unites with The Baby Bank to donate beautiful baby blankets to families in need
When Allison from Jack & Jillaroo heard about A Good Thing, she was delighted. She had recently made the decision to put on hold her business creating wonderful handmade baby clothes and accessories: organic cotton muslins, beeswax and olive oil teethers, bibs lined with bamboo towelling... Allison had been looking to find new homes for some of her surplus products for some months already, but without much success.
“I had completed a design degree when I suffered a stroke 11 years ago, at the age of 25. I was in a coma for a month and then in hospital for six months, but when I emerged I was determined to pick my business up again where I had left off. I was living with my disability, hand-making all of my products, after having had to re-learn how to do so many things. But then I realised recently that it had all become too much of a struggle, and I felt I would like to try something different.”
Looking for a good home
Allison had not anticipated it would be so challenging to find a new home for her stock when she decided to take a break from Jack & Jillaroo. She tried on multiple occasions to donate the blankets to local charities, but found that her messages went unanswered. It was hard to make those connections. She also tried reaching out to retailers like TK Maxx, hoping they might take her stock, but had no joy there either. At one stage someone even offered to take the stock off Allison’s hands for a fee, but she was determined to give the blankets away to someone who was going to make really good use of them.
Coping with the challenges of home-schooling her own children as well as dealing with getting things sorted to put her business on ice, Allison didn’t have the time or energy to spend hours searching around for where to donate her surplus stock. She was keen to pass on her beautiful baby blankets in just one bundle – she didn’t need the hassle of having to split them up into multiple smaller donations.
The Baby Bank and Jack & Jillaroo: a match made in heaven?
Meanwhile, The Baby Bank charity in Windsor had registered with A Good Thing: just a couple of days later they spotted Allison’s blankets being offered via the site. The charity couldn’t believe their luck! The charity was founded in 2015 by two Windsor mums, and accepts donations of good-quality secondhand clothes, equipment and furniture. The charity passes these on to local families in extreme need – it has helped more than 5,000 such families since it was set up.
The Baby Bank can help families in so many ways: it provides clothing for pregnant and breastfeeding mums, children’s clothes, cots, pushchairs, carseats, baby bottles and furniture – among much else. The charity works with families facing a wide range of difficulties: they could be the victims of fire or flooding, or they could be fleeing domestic violence. They could be teenage mums, or they could be refugees or asylum seekers – newly arrived in the UK with very few possessions.
For many of these families, receiving a beautiful handmade baby blanket will not only keep their baby warm: it will bring the family joy and will give them that wonderful feeling of someone having thought about them – at a time when many of them are struggling and finding life very hard.
“Selecting The Baby Bank to donate my blankets to was easy: I had taken a look at the charity’s website and instantly loved their mission and ethos. I also really appreciated the message I received from the charity when they requested the blankets – they were warm and enthusiastic, and we went on to have a really positive interaction.”
Given she was giving something away for free, Allison wanted to feel the donation was going to be appreciated. She wanted to feel as though she had made a connection with the recipient charity – which she absolutely did in this instance. She felt so engaged with The Baby Bank that she ended up packing a whole load of additional baby items into her car when she delivered the blankets to the charity, and gifting them to The Baby Bank. The charity were obviously thrilled with this outcome, and Allison was delighted too – many of the items she donated were things she had been wanting to find a new home for over many months.
“Using A Good Thing to donate my baby blankets couldn’t have been easier. I decided I was happy to drive the blankets over to The Baby Bank, to save them a journey. The whole experience really was hassle-free.”
“I think there could be a lot of demand for this service. I know of many other businesses in my situation – wanting to pass on surplus stock for free but finding it very hard to do that. I think Not On The High Street sellers might be willing to pay for the postage of donated items, too, meaning the service could be opened up to a much wider audience.”
It’s easy to do A Good Thing!
We were thrilled to be there to make A Good Thing happen when Allison from Jack & Jillaroo made contact with us: she may have found it hard to find The Baby Bank on her own, and she may have found the process more complicated to make the donation without the support of us at A Good Thing. We’re here to match up charities in need with businesses who have something great to donate – it’s that simple!
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