Housing Plus Group has helped support a baby bank as it moves into its new headquarters in Shrewsbury.听
Little Stars works to ensure babies and children across Shropshire have access to the essentials they need at every stage of childhood such as nappies, equipment,听clothing听and school items.听听
Due to increasing demand, it has now moved into its own dedicated building on Battlefield Enterprise Park to allow it to upscale its operations and to continue providing this much-needed service for families.听
To help cover setup costs and make the new building comfortable for staff and volunteers, Housing Plus Group donated 拢2,000 to the charity.听
Founder and chief executive of Little Stars, Leanne Simcoe, said: 鈥淭hat support meant I was able to invest in the essential health and safety work needed in our new premises. We were also able to听purchase听items for the staff kitchen, buy fleeces to keep our volunteers warm in the warehouse, and fund marketing materials so people can find us easily and know where we are.听
“It was great to have that pressure lifted because it was core funding for us.鈥�听
The new premises will be used as an office and storage warehouse, and Leanne is looking for volunteers who would like to help organise the new space.听
Leanne added: 鈥淚n terms of volunteering,听we鈥檝e听just moved into our new premises, so our focus is on sorting the stock we already have and organising it into categories such as spring and summer.听听
鈥淚t鈥檚听about being more granular with the sorting so we can work more efficiently. Once everything is organised,听we鈥檒l听know exactly what we need and can reach out to the community for those donated items.鈥�听
Housing Plus group鈥檚 Money Matters team works closely with Little Stars to help support tenants who may be struggling to afford essentials for their children.听
Housing Plus Group鈥檚 Social Value and Inclusion Manager, Sam Hine, said: 鈥淥ur Money Matters team is already linked with Little Stars, and when I met Leanne and she talked me through their aspirations and the move into the new building, it just felt like an obvious choice to support them.听听
鈥淭hey鈥檙e听making a real difference for people who live in our homes, so supporting their work made perfect sense. We hope our support will make a meaningful difference to anyone in need and help ease the pressure for those who may be struggling.鈥�听
Housing Plus Group鈥檚 My Community Fund is delivered in partnership with Jewson and Efficiency East Midlands Limited (EEM) and supports grass-roots organisations in Staffordshire,听Shropshire听and Telford & Wrekin. Local charities and voluntary groups can apply for grants online at:听听听听
Anyone who would like to volunteer at Little Stars can email听enquiries@littlestarscharity.org.听You can also visit the听听to find out more or access support.听