Donations, physical and financial, are being encouraged to help ease the burden on vulnerable new mothers over the festive period
Community Connect, Ireland’s baby bank, is calling on the public to sponsor “A Bundle of Love for Christmas” for a family facing difficulties this festive period.
The charity works closely with maternity hospitals, homeless services, domestic violence refuges and health professionals around Ireland to provide support to pregnant women and new mothers.
It has hubs in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Athlone and Dundalk, along with an army of volunteers dotted around the country.
Some of the charity’s volunteers with donations of essential baby items. Image: Community Connect
As part of its Christmas appeal, Community Connect is looking for people to sponsor special gift packages containing essential items for babies and their mothers, either post-partum or mid-pregnancy, to help them care for their beloved little ones.
The gift packages come in three forms:
BabyBox – includes nappies, blanket, baby clothes and other essentials to give a baby the best start in life. There is also a hand-knitted item inside.MamaBag – contains necessary items such as shampoo, fluffy socks and treats to to help a new mother comfortably settle into the new journey of motherhood.Hospital Bag – has the must-have things a pregnant mother needs during when giving birth in the hospital.
Volunteers hold children’s clothes donated for the Christmas period. Image: Community Connect
Speaking about the packages, the charity’s CEO Elaine Noonan said all gifts are highly appreciated by mothers who receive them.
“We feel like it’s lovely to give them a gift of something that’s new, and particularly if it’s pregnant mother with a small baby, that she would have a new outfit to put her baby into coming home from hospital,” she said.
The charity also relies on generous financial donations to fund the purchase of new items for the gift package.
“We’re looking for people to pay or sponsor the cost of the box or bag, or indeed, a hospital bag. We do pick up a full hospital bag as well. That’s also an option for people.”
Furthermore, the charity also accepts second-hand, or “pre-loved” items, as they call them, for inclusion in the packages.
“We take donations of all of the items that people are finished with when they’ve had a baby, like buggies, cots, clothing, baths, high chairs, play mats, all of those things.
Baby Oliver with some donated goods. Image: Community Connect
“We redistribute them, mainly through the maternity hospital social work teams dealing with families who’ve been through domestic violence or for one reason or another are just really struggling.”
Describing them as “gold dust” given their rarity, Ms Noonan said double buggies are highly sought after both by the charity and the mothers who receive them.
“We always have a long list of people who need them, because so many families have maybe a toddler and a baby, or even twins, and obviously they really need a double buggy to get around.”
Community Connect volunteers with gift packages. Image: Rethink Ireland
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She remembered one double buggy donation which demonstrated to her the true generosity people possess.
“This particular buggy was just immaculate. I’d never seen anything like it. I’d say it was worth a few thousand euro. The family chose to donate it, and I remember bringing it delivering it to a lady who was expecting twins, and she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Sometimes people really do go above and beyond. You just go in and you sort of think ‘Gosh, that’s somebody who really cares’.”