Families received a warm welcome and snuggly clothing to help keep their children cosy through the colder months.
A Winter Warm Appeal has been launched by the Our Community Wardrobe clothing bank and Oldham Family Hubs – and the first stop was Spring Meadows Family Hub in the grounds of Littlemoor Primary School on Leamington Street.
More than 70 families collected donations of pre-loved and new items including coats, hats, scarves and cuddly fleeces.
Children were also invited to take a cute knitted teddy bear home with them to cuddle.
Mum Sally Cook got a snowsuit, blanket, babygrows and vests for her five-week-old son Parker Priestley and pyjamas for her older sons.
“It’s amazing. This is helping the community and people who are struggling,” she said.
Mum Sarah Cook holding her baby boy Parker Priestley
And she said about Spring Meadows, one of seven Family Hubs to have opened across the borough since last summer as one-stop shops to give children the best start in life: “Midwives and health visitors are all here in one place and I can come here with Parker for Stay and Play. It has everything under one roof.”
Another mum Kiran Ijaz collected blankets and coats for her 11-day-old son and his six-year-old brother.
“It’s a wonderful event,” she said. ”There are lots of amazing things here for a newborn and everything is useful – useful coats, blankets and fleeces for children.”
And three-year-old Isabella Rees went home with pyjamas, a dressing gown, blankets and scarves, and a teddy bear.
Families were also signposted to the help and support available to them from a range of 0-19 services during the drop-in.
Family Hub manager Jenny Clarke said: “What we are providing is a lifeline to families.
“We have had people coming through the doors today and we have been able to reach out to them and signpost them to the support available.”
Parenting Officer Joanna Bird and Sally Maher of Our Community Wardrobe with baby Parker
Sally Maher started Our Community Wardrobe in 2022 while holding a toy appeal at a school and a little boy declared that all he needed was a coat for Christmas.
She said: “We want to help keep children warm and snuggly this winter.
“For parents these kind donations are like receiving a big genuine hug from another mum who know how hard things can be.”
Sally also takes clothing rails into the Family Hubs laden with kind-hearted donations all year round, and families are referred by their child’s school or by the Hubs to pick out the items they need.
Twenty-month-old Mia-Victoria Crossley in her stylish dress from Our Community Wardrobe
Cllr Shaid Mushtaq, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “It’s great to see that our new Family Hubs are already helping to make such a big impact in reaching out to families in Oldham.
“In teaming up with Our Community Wardrobe, they are providing a warm welcome and hopefully making things that little bit easier for families in need of support this winter.
“At the same time, we have been able to signpost those in need of further help to the range of services available in our Hubs to give children the best possible start in life.”
The next Winter Warm Appeal drop-in is now being planned for Medlock Vale Family Hub.
To find your nearest Family Hub, with a range of support and activities for children aged 0-19 and 25 with special educational needs and disabilities, visit familyhubs.oldham.gov.uk
