On Wednesday, 5 November, we visited the charity Grow Baby in Kingston. The aim of our trip was to gain a greater understanding of what the charity does to support our local community. We got to see how they help families in need by building relationships with those who need help with providing clothing, toys, nappies, and buggies for their children.
The charity began supporting families in 2003 in Kingston, and since then, 40 have grown around the UK. The charity is a smaller part of the larger organisation that supports communities all over the world. One of their aims is to gradually increase financial independence for families, and as part of this, they have a store called the “pantry”. This is in addition to their food banks, and it allows families to buy food for less than supermarket prices. They told us that last Christmas they were able to give 3000 gifts to children aged between 0-25, all of which would have received nothing on Christmas Day.
During our trip there, we helped the volunteers to sort out the bookshelf into different categories, organise nappies into different age categories, and bags into the larger and smaller, plastic ones. This was to help the visiting families, so that when they came to collect what they needed, they were able to find exactly what they wanted. The trip as a whole was very insightful, and we are all grateful to have a greater understanding of what the charity does, and we look forward to continuing to support them through the School year.
Written by Park House Captains: Alexi B, Anna W, Tess F, and Kate M
