Wickes supports The Baby Room in Exeter
Products donated as part of the Wickes Community Programme
Local charity, The Baby Room in Exeter, has been provided with kitchen and bathroom products to create a welcoming space for new mums thanks to a donation from the Wickes Community Programme.
The Baby Room is a Community Interest Company and for the last 5 years has been hosting groups of up to 14 people. They’ve seen a rise in the need for breastfeeding support as local maternity services are stretched. The group work closely with the infant feeding leads at the Royal Devon and Exeter and the Public Health Nursing Team to provide service alongside theirs.
Local families who are struggling with new parenting can pop in and will be offered peer-to-peer breastfeeding support from an army of trained volunteers at a time and place which is convenient for them.
The donations were provided as part of the Wickes Community Programme, which aims to support local groups and organisations by providing relevant products to help them with essential maintenance, renovation or to complete new projects.
Wickes Exeter Store Manager, Oliver Green, said: “The work that Jen and Gill are doing is so important we were really happy to help them. We’d love to hear from more community groups who could benefit from a product donation.”
Jennifer Harris founder of The Baby Room, said: “When we moved into our new premises we needed to do a lot of work before we could open. We are so grateful to Wickes for our kitchen and toilet it has made all the difference. To be able to provide families with somewhere to get free breastfeeding support in the heart of town has been our dream for so long and now it's a reality!! Parents can come and change a nappy, use the bathroom and access a wealth of knowledge from our volunteers.”
“The new kitchen area means we can offer people a cup of tea and a piece of cake too, we are just off Exeter High St on Paris St, we are open for 'drop in' Monday to Friday 9.30 am to 3 pm but have workshops and classes all week, most evenings and weekends, these are held in our studio space upstairs.”
The Wickes Community Programme is open to all local community groups seeking help for improvement projects, and any groups interested in applying for a donation should head into their local store to speak to the manager.
