These are the items Leeds Baby Bank charity most needs to help struggling families

A charity providing essential baby items to parents in need of support has completely run out of bedding as it tries to keep pace with demand.
Leeds Baby Bank volunteer Jackie Appleton at the charitys city centre base in the St Johns Centre.Leeds Baby Bank volunteer Jackie Appleton at the charitys city centre base in the St Johns Centre.
Leeds Baby Bank volunteer Jackie Appleton at the charitys city centre base in the St Johns Centre.

Leeds Baby Bank issued an appeal for various items on Monday and reported yesterday that it had now handed out the last of its bedding supplies.

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Trustee and co-founder Chantal Nogbou said: “There’s always a demand for bedding. With every cot that goes out, we always try to give bedding.

“We’ve had some lovely people just sending us boxes full of knitted blankets but it’s the sheets. It’s one of those things that people don’t particularly donate – they think clothing, nappies or toys.”

Cots and the associated bedding are one of the items most frequently requested by parents referred to the charity, with around 70 per cent of all referral lists including a cot or cot bed.

It makes keeping up with the demand a constant challenge for the baby bank, which regularly posts appeals for specific items via its social media accounts and website.

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Chantal said: “Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been getting a lot more referrals in and quite a few urgent ones that need something as soon as possible, which is really difficult when we’ve got quite low stocks. Some are in dire straits and if we can’t help them, who will?”

Recent referrals have included a family who had fled from domestic violence with only the clothes they were wearing.

Another family supported this month had come to Leeds after escaping from a war zone.

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Items currently in short supply are sheets for cots, cot beds and moses baskets, as well as cots and cot beds that are complete and in good condition.

Other helpful items to donate include prams, double prams, premature baby clothes and Aptamil or Cow and Gate first milk (in date and unopened).

The charity is also looking for more volunteers to help collect and sort donated items.

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Chantal said: "The thing that we really need are extra volunteers to help us keep up with the demand.

"We have our amazing drop-off points that take in donations and then we get the come and collect it. We don't always have the volunteers to get it from the drop-off points to the unit."

Visit the Leeds Baby Bank website for the full list of drop-off points and more details on how to become a volunteer.