Inside Little Village baby bank in Tooting, London

You might associate baby banks with the tiniest members of society. But in reality, these donation centres are a lifeline for parents and their toddlers and school-age children, too.

And right now, Little Village – a network of baby banks in London – is running desperately low on essentials for older kids.

Sara*, whose children are two and seven years old, lives in Battersea, London. She came to the UK in 2019 after fleeing her husband’s country which was in economic turmoil.

The family were struggling financially as they found their feet, so they called Citizens Advice which signposted them to the baby bank.

“Children grow out of their clothes so quickly and you always need clothes for different seasons, but the cost of them is just crippling for someone in my position,” Sara told HuffPost UK.

“I got a call one day from someone at Little Village who has become a very special person to me. For the first time it felt like someone was looking out for me and I never felt judged, like I was failing as a parent.

“She felt like my friend even though we’d never met.”

Sara explained that she wasn’t able to buy clothes when her children needed them because she would need to save up enough money first, “which can take some weeks or months”.

She is working, so is able to cover food and basic expenses for her family, but acquiring bigger ticket items like clothing and nursery furniture for her children has been a real struggle.

Little Village was able........

© HuffPost