Buckie TooCute baby bank set for new lease of life thanks to local community council
A well-used baby bank is set for a new lease of life thanks to a group of community volunteers.
Back in January 2023 Ashleigh Mair and mum Gillian Hepburn set up a baby bank in their children's wear boutique TooCute on High Street, Buckie.
It provided a range of donated items, from nappies to cots.
Since then, its popularity has grown steadily to help parents in need. However, it has now come to the point where the duo can now longer run both the baby bank and their growing business.
With the baby bank faced with closure, Buckie and District Community Council (BDCC) have stepped into the breach and will soon be running the service under their own auspices.
The group’s chairman, Peter West, said: “The TooCute baby bank has been a much-needed charity but Ashleigh has essentially become a victim of her own success between this and her business expanding.
“We felt that it couldn’t be allowed to close and have managed to secure a space in Buckie British Legion to store all the baby bank items.
“We’ve got a team of six volunteers to run it and we’re hoping to open soon.”
On the TooCute baby bank Facebook page, Ashleigh spoke of the difficulty she faced in deciding to call it a day.
She said: “It is with great sadness that I have made the decision to step away and close our TooCute Baby bank.
“It’s not been an easy decision to come to terms with as this is a much-needed service for our local community.
“Over the last three years i have helped over 100 local families, helping to ease the financial pressure of having a family - anything from wipes and nappies to furniture and beds.
“Sadly, with the expansion of my business I have outgrown the space I have available to store the donations, and with the needs of my own family, I am struggling to give it my full attention.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you who donated over the years, it’s made such a big difference in helping others, your generosity is greatly appreciated! Without donations from our local community it would not have been possible to help so many families in their time of need.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for your support - together, we’ve made a big difference and put a smile back on peoples faces, through these worrying and challenging times.”
A further announcement will be mad when the baby bank is fully operational again. keep up to date with BDCC activities by following their Facebook page.
