52 Lives

#253 Ivy

Request: New (or near new) baby clothes / Donations / Gifts from a wishlist / Messages

This week we’d like to help a young woman called Ivy, who recently left foster care. She lived with her mum and dad until she was 9, but they had issues with alcohol and were sometimes violent, so her and her sisters were removed from the home and put into foster care.

She was scared and didn’t understand what was happening. “It broke my heart when I realised I wouldn't go back to my parents.”

Ivy lived with her first foster family for a few years and loved it there, but was then moved to a different family. Over the years, she was moved 3 more times and, from age 13, she was placed in different foster homes to her sisters. After they were separated she became very depressed.

Ivy is now an adult and no longer in the care system. She's living alone, she's 6 months pregnant, and she has very little help from anyone. Her support worker got in touch with us to see if we could help to get Ivy’s flat ready for the arrival of her baby girl.

Ivy has had a lot of sadness in her life and very few people she could depend on, but with your help, we’d love to show her some kindness.

What We Need

1. New (or near new) baby clothes: We need baby clothes in newborn and 0-3 months. If you have some baby clothes you might be willing to donate, please click the link below to let us know (please do let us know before you post anything, as we may already have enough). 

2. Gifts from a wishlist: We've set up an Amazon wishlist filled with some of the things Ivy needs. To buy one of the items, please click the link below. Your gift will be sent directly to Ivy.

3. Donations: Some of the things Ivy needs are a little bit bigger (such as furniture), so we will use your donations to pay for those. We will also be buying her a gift card for a clothes shop, as she is rapidly changing size and struggling to afford clothes.  Any funds we raise above what is needed will be used to help her in other ways. 

4. Kind messages: We give people tangible help, but one of the most important things we do is show people kindness, and let them know they're not alone. To send a kind message to Ivy, please either write your message in the form below and we'll pass it along (your contact details will not be shared), or you can post it to: 52 Lives (Life 253), PO Box 3154, Reading, RG1 9AT.

6. Could your company help? If you are a company that provides baby goods, please let us know if you might be willing to donate something for Ivy by filling in the form below. 

I have baby clothes to donate

Buy a gift from Amazon

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What We Did

We raised enough funds to decorate and carpet the flat, and also provided a fridge, cot, living room furniture and baby clothes.