THE WARM BABY PROJECT STORY
In the UK alone approximately 60,000 babies are born prematurely each year and most of these early births come unexpectedly.
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In 2018, Baby Frankie was born to West Suffolk Hospital prematurely. Due to his small size Frankie needed to be kept extra warm during his time in the NICU (Neonatal intensive care unit). He was kindly given knitted clothing and blankets by the hospital to keep him warm. Frankie's Grandma then began knitting blankets for this hospital in order to give something back; as the knitted items had such a huge impact on Frankie's family in their time of need.
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Olivia, founder of the Warm baby project, wanted to help and decided to set up a Just giving page & Facebook page with the purpose of raising funds to be able to supply wool for Frankie's Grandma. This project unexpectedly began to grow, encouraging knitters across the UK to join the cause. And with this generosity and kindness of strangers, what started as a small collection of donations for a local hospital has now grown into a full size (sixty thousand and growing volunteers and supporters) knitting & garment distribution operation for hospitals, refugee camps and baby banks across the UK and further.
Due to the size, the project has even introduced wool banks dotted all across the country which supply our rather large family of knitters with the materials they need so they may continue to create essential woollen items. This wool comes purely from the funds we raise through the donations of both wool and money; you can donate by our just giving page, wool drop off points, or by purchasing our merchandise. The project has now grown to donate everything from cardigans, blankets, hats, traffic light hats, bonding squares, teddy bears, cannula mittens, and in these strange times we now donate face masks! (Read about the importance of these items on the knit for us page & FAQ page.).
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Support the cause by joining the project today and become a part of our kind like-minded crafty family.
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Any donations are gratefully received and help keep our knitters knitting, garments shipped & babies warm!
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APPEAL REQUEST
A request is recieved from an official employee of the organisation they are requesting for (this can be hospital/baby bank/refugee camp). We prepare by stocking our wool collection points.
SPREAD THE WORD
We then share the specific request to our large following of supporters & ensure all our wool collection points are fully stocked. Our knitters get to work knitting their crafty creations using our knitting patterns & wool provided.
CREATE OR DONATE
The woollen items are then sent directly to the appeal address by the knitters. Once received by the appeals, they then process them (ie wash, sort, share).
JOB DONE!
Finally, the appeal centre (ie hospital, baby bank) hands the knitted items over to the families who are in need. Any donations go right back into buying wool for our knitters.
THE PROCESS
So far we have helped thousands of preemies (premature babies) & their parents.
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In fact, we've had a number of published articles and tv appearances featuring some of our most successful appeals - including completing an appeal with a record amount of donations for Cannula mittens. You can read more about this on our In The Press page.
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This charity has grown substantially through the power of Facebook. Our Facebook page is a place where both sides of the charity go to connect and share; often showing all of the items that have been created, recipients who have benefited from our knits, and overwhelmed parents. So please do give us a follow.
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So we ask, if you can knit (or crochet)- get creating, if you can donate- please do, and if you can do neither of those - to simply share our story and help spread the word.
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For those who are already a part of our family, you make us proud! We truly have grown into a tight-knit community!
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
Below are just a couple of examples of who we've been able to help in the past! This project is more than just knitting, it's also about helping to save lives & creating a tight-knit community too!.. You can read more on our facebook page or go to Projects page for more...
This is Eddie with his bonding square aged 19months! It has always been so special to me and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Our triplets started life in NICU and bonding squares, hats, octopuses magically appeared in their incubators... Knowing there’s so many amazing people behind this is - it’s seriously inspiring. Couldn’t be more overwhelmed. Wonderful wonderful people.
A Special Thank You
We just wanted to take the time to thank each and every one of you for the overwhelming amount of support you give us on a daily basis. Without you, this project would only be something of a dream & those in need would continue to be without.
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No matter how big or how small, every single thing helps us to grow. The general community spirit of the project is astonishing and we are still blown away each day.
If you wish to see some of the stories of those who have benefited from the project, simply head to our projects page.
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We hope projects like ours continue to make such a significant difference in the world & continue to bring people together.
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We can't wait to see what the future holds for us.
We are truly proud to be a part of this tight-knit community, and we hope you are too!
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Olivia & Team
