A community organisation that works to support new mothers and families struggling to meet the financial and practical burden of looking after a new baby has issued an appeal for help.
Baby Basics Lowestoft has received a welcome financial boost - but still "needs your support" with donations of baby clothing.
Judith Goddard - who runs Baby Basics Lowestoft, a volunteer-led project that was set up in the town in 2016 - said: "We support families with children aged from 0 to five with clothing, cots, prams and most things that babies and very young children need, including toys.
"We were delighted to receive a cheque from the Rotary Club of Lowestoft South which will help to meet some of our costs.
"Every cot bed or pram we send out has to have a new mattress – so that is where most of our money goes.
"We can provide a starter pack of a Moses basket, a bag of clothes and maybe a pram and a bath.
"We rely mainly on donations and at the moment the thing we are most short of is new-born baby clothes."
With three volunteers running baby basics in Lowestoft, Mrs Goddard added: "We also have a fundraiser and have enough work for more volunteers, but we don’t have enough space for them.
"We are also looking for bigger premises because we have outgrown the facility kindly provided at the church."
With the Rotary Club of Lowestoft South supporting Baby Basics Lowestoft with fundraising, David Ferns - the club's foundation officer - said: "Baby Basics came to speak to us at a meeting of our club and we were very impressed by the voluntary work that they do and decided to organise a fundraising event for them.
"We held an afternoon tea and raffle at the Park Hill Hotel.
"It was attended by 90 people and we raised £450 for them."
Festive appeal launched
Having just launched their Christmas appeal, which supports families with children who are school age and up to teenagers, Mrs Goddard said: "We try to make sure that no child is without a Christmas present, and we try to provide toys and gifts for older children as well.
"Again, that relies on donations."
If anyone wants to make a donation, details of the appeal is on the Baby Basics Lowestoft Facebook page, along with an Amazon Wishlist where people buy items which get delivered to the community organisation.
Mrs Goddard said: "We particularly need goods for the secondary age – that is where we struggle with gifts for them.
"If anyone has items to donate, the best way to get in touch with us is either via messenger on our Facebook page and there is also a phone number for us on the site, or they can drop items off to Gunton Baptist Church in Montgomery Avenue, Lowestoft on a Tuesday or Thursday."
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