BBCA charity wants to give out hundreds of pushchairs to families who cannot afford one.
The Birmingham Playcare Network said four businesses had already come forward to give £12,000, which was enough to buy about 200, but it needed more.
The charity’s business development manager, Emma Martin, said one mother was forced to use a shopping trolley to take her child to a health appointment, which was “just absolutely unacceptable”.
Ms Martin said her initial aim was to give out 500 pushchairs.
Ms Martin said the charity worked with a lot of women fleeing domestic violence who turned up to refuges with their children and nothing else, having left it all behind.
She said the charity also dealt with a significant number of families who had children with special needs, which limited their capacity to work.
The charity, which also supplies cots and Moses baskets to families, said it decided to launch the Buggies 4 Brum appeal after health visitors and midwives raised the issue.
As well as purchasing the buggies, it wants to work with a contractor to collect and restore those that had been previously used and then redistribute them.
Birmingham Playcare Network runs a range of schemes to help families.
It collects and redistributes craft supplies for children, it gives out donated toys at Christmas, it opens up to offer a coffee and a chat and it helps mothers connect with each other.
In January 2024 it launched its Safe Sleep Scheme, to give families cots and Moses baskets and with the help of a £100,000 grant from the city council it has so far distributed 1,500.
Ms Martin said it was while working on that project, she became aware of the need for pushchairs.
Families without the use of a car could feel “trapped at home” without one, she said, and were unable to feel the benefits of being out and about in their local community.
The lack of a pushchair also made it difficult to get to essential appointments, she added.
Ms Martin said the price of a basic pushchair was just £42 and she asked for companies and individuals to contribute to her appeal.
Credit: Source link
