A child born during the festive season has become the 3000th in the region to receive a Baby Box.
North East charity The Children’s Foundation is celebrating boosting the start in life for 3000 babies this Christmas, with first-day essentials, information and support in the form of a Baby Box.
A third of children in the North East live in poverty and these boxes are designed to level the playing field for all youngsters. Baby Boxes include developmentally rich toys, early learning materials, baby essentials and expert guidance to first-time parents.
The scheme has been backed by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness since she came into office, she has expanded the initiative to benefit more families across the region and is becoming a cornerstone of her strategy to tackle child poverty.
The model combines financial relief with relationship-based support delivered through midwives, health visitors and community partners, easing the pressure on stretched public services and giving families the confidence, tools and knowledge to support their baby’s development from birth.
Sean Soulsby, CEO of The Children’s Foundation said: “Reaching 3,000 Baby Boxes isn’t just a number, it represents real, individual families whose babies are now starting life with the essentials, the learning tools and the support every child deserves.”
Mayor Kim said: “I’ve seen the impact that baby boxes have first hand, they level the playing field for new parents from day one. That’s why they’re part of our region’s plan to tackle child poverty, and 3000 children have had a better start in life because of it.
“It is so important that we break down the barriers that poverty creates, and we cannot start early enough. As part of our £28.6m Child Poverty Action Plan, we’ll be delivering a new grant for pregnant mams, helping parents with the cost of childcare and expanding baby box deliveries.”
What started as a local, community led initiative has benefitted from private sector collaboration with warehousing specialist Stiller bringing the Baby Box scheme to life.
Stiller now provide contract packing services to ready boxes for expecting families.
Thomas Prentice, Business Development Manager at Stiller said: “When we first learned about the Baby Box project, we knew straight away it was something we wanted to support and the project has grown into something the whole Stiller team cares deeply about.
“We handle the logistics planning, from stock management to making sure each box leaves us safely and gets where it needs to be, when it needs to be there. It’s the kind of behind-the-scenes work we do every day as a business, but knowing it directly supports new parents makes it feel incredibly meaningful.
“Stiller has been part of the Northeast community for 71 years, and being able to use our contract packing facility and the expertise of our people to help get these boxes safely packed and delivered feels like a very real, hands-on way of giving back. Seeing the project reach 3,000 Baby Boxes is fantastic, and we’re proud to have played a part in making that happen. Knowing that every single one is heading to a family that will start their journey feeling a little more supported is a great feeling, especially at this time of year."
Sean continued: “Every baby deserves dignity, support, and opportunity, regardless of postcode. Our team will continue working with policymakers, local authorities and health partners to explore how the Baby Box model can be expanded to ensure that every first-time family in the North East, and across England, has access to our life-changing Baby Boxes.”
The Children’s Foundation is an independent children’s health charity founded in 1990 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Its mission is to improve the health and well-being of the most vulnerable children and young people across the North East.
The Baby Box initiative is inspired by similar schemes in Finland and Scotland but is the first in England to focus on vulnerable first-time parents via NHS referrals.