What does success look like?
Easy - success looks like 40 new beds built and made ready to be slept in!
This week marks three months since we launched our Covid-19 response project. In this time, we have helped 104 children from 45 families. We have installed an incredible 40 beds, all with their own bedding set, duvet, pillow and Cubbie! We’ve also installed 30 storage units, 8 safety gates and 2 washing machines, and we’ve provided 3 new-mums with baby essentials and 7 families with kitchen essentials. This really is something to be proud of!
But we couldn’t reach our goals and fulfil our visions to make a difference in the local community without without your help… Thank you so much to everyone who has purchased items from our Shop or made a donation via our Covid-19 Emergency Appeal. And thank you so much to everyone who helps to spread the word of our charity. We really appreciate all of your support. Together, we have proven that we can successfully battle the negative effects of Covid-19.
We would also like to give a HUGE shoutout to our knitters.
You may also noticed that we’ve been gifting knitted blankets to these emergency referrals. We’re so grateful for all of our knitters, and for all of the time and work that goes into creating these blankets, so we’re delighted that we’ve also been able to gift some of these blankets locally as well as overseas.
As you can see from these stories, the lockdown is having a huge effect on the vulnerable children that FMN supports, who may be living in poverty, experiencing trauma or battling with mental health problems. These knitted gifts make each referral extra-special - ensuring that each child can wrap themselves up in love and warmth. The children who have received these blankets so far have been so appreciative and have accepted them with huge smiles. These gifts, even though they are a small gesture, are so important because they let vulnerable children know that they are not forgotten. So, if you are one of the lovely people who knit for us, we cannot thank you enough! Your blankets are going to great new homes!
And to celebrate our community and to honour all of your help, we have lots more success stories for you to enjoy…
Due to issues of domestic violence between himself and his mother, “Louis” is now permanently living with his grandmother. However, the family had no washing machine and could not afford to purchase a one! Previously, family and friends were washing their clothing and bedding for them, but due to COVID-19 this stopped happening. “Louis’” grandmother was attempting to hand-wash their clothes, but this was proving difficult due to her disability. Thanks to you, we were able to provide the family with a brand new washing machine!
21-month old “Miles” and his father have been temporarily living in a B&B, after his mother was arrested for child neglect. As part of her bail conditions, his father is unable to have contact with the mother and so cannot return home to collect “Miles’" possessions. Thanks to Sharewear Clothing Scheme, we have helped to provide “Miles” with some fabulous new clothes. “Miles” was also sleeping in a single bed which is really high, presenting a risk of him falling and injuring himself; we were able to provide him with a bed-guard for his safety! Finally, thanks to your wonderful donations, we were also able to provide baby “Miles” with some toys to keep him occupied - to allow him to explore and play more comfortably in his new environment.
In fact, Sharewear Clothing Scheme have helped us to provide clothing gift-packages for eight children across five families! They are such an incredible charity, and we’re so grateful to have them working alongside us in our community.
We received a referral for a young boy, “Kai”, who has been on a child protection plan due to neglect. He has recently moved in with his maternal grandmother and her children. However, the family have a low income, so were unable to afford to buy “Kai” his own bed or any storage for his belongings. Beforehand, he was sharing a single bed with his uncle, but we were able to provide “Kai” and his uncle with a bunk bed. We were delighted to also be able to gift bedding sets, blankets, toiletries and Cubbies to all of the other children in the home too. The children were very excited; our team were able to spend lots of time with them and were able to teach them how to make their own beds! The family were incredibly grateful and it was such a pleasure to be able to help such a lovely family - thanks to all your generous donations.
In fact, we’ve been delivering bunk beds left right and centre across Derbyshire, for families who are experiencing similar situations…
15-year-old “Sam” has recently been diagnosed with a learning disability and as a result he has been refusing to go to school. The family have since become very isolated. They are struggling financially and have no support from their relatives and are unable to afford to purchase a bed for “Sam”. Luckily, we were able to provide “Sam” with a brand new bed! Amazingly, we were also able to gift “Sam’s” parents with a king-sized bed as his mother has very painful arthritis and has been sleeping on the sofa because their bed is not large enough for both of them to sleep in comfortably! All members of the family had consequently been suffering from sleep deprivation, which has been impacting their mental health. We are hoping that our intervention will help to resolve these issues!
We also recently received a referral for a new bed for “Vivienne”. Her mum sadly passed away and unfortunately her Dad has struggled to care for her and her two siblings since. We were so pleased that we were able to provide “Vivienne” with a new bed. We were also able to go above and beyond, providing bedding, knitting blankets, toiletries and Cubbies for all her siblings and her Dad! These little gifts are such a nice way to make every referral extra-special, which we couldn’t do without your support.
Last week we were able to deliver a new bed to “Annabelle”. She currently shares a bedroom with her little brother who is being assessed for Autism/ADHD. and has support from a Health Worker to help with his behaviour and problems with sleep patterns. Mum is not able to work at the moment due to her own mental health challenges, so finances are tight. Thanks to your help, we were able to provide a bed for “Annabelle” so that now she has her own safe space in her bedroom.
Finally, we’ve been able to provide lots of storage solutions! Over the last few weeks we’ve provided storage for multiple families. The care workers involved with these families were concerned because their homes were continuously cluttered. Social services have been working closely with all the families to help clean the home and make it a safer environment for the children, but to do this effectively the families were in need of some storage units! One set of drawers really can make all the difference!
We hope that you have enjoyed these stories and that they have made you smile. If any of these stories have inspired you, we would be so grateful if you could visit our Shop; make a contribution via our Covid-19 Emergency Appeal; or share these stories with your friends and family!
Remember: together we can make a difference in our community.
Stay safe and stay positive,
Chloe x