About Pelican Parcels
What We Do
Our vision is a community in which families and carers all have the essentials for their children.
We take pre-loved and new item donations for babies and children up to age 16, and redistribute them to families facing financial hardship via various existing family services in Brighton & Hove in Sussex.
End Child Poverty state that 28.4% of all those aged 16 and under in Brighton & Hove are living in poverty. The city has high rates of children in need, in care and with child protection plans and/or who have been referred to children’s social care services.
Pelican Parcels aims to provide all essentials from beds and clothes, uniform and shoes, toys and books, prams and play mats, nappies and toiletries for families from birth up to the age of 16. Full list of items you can donate.
All donations go directly to the families at no cost to them.
How We Help
We support children and parents in Sussex experiencing hardship by working in partnership with local council services such as health visitors, social workers, women’s shelters and other charities and agencies.
We do not support individuals or families directly. If you need help, please ask your midwife, health visitor, social worker, children’s centre, school or foodbank to make a referral on your behalf.
If you are a health professional or work for a social service agency, please email info@pelicanparcels.org.uk.
Our service is provided free of charge with no assessment criteria. All items need to be collected from our warehouse by the agency making the referral.
Who We Are
Pelican Parcels is a charity designed to support disadvantaged families in Brighton & Hove.
The charity was founded by Shelley and James Bennett in 2018. The idea came about when they wanted to gift some of their cherished, but no longer used, baby items to a family in need. After realising that such a service did not exist locally they decided to start Pelican Parcels with the aim to provide and recycle children’s items to disadvantaged families.
We have six Trustees:
- Shelley has three gorgeous children and has a background in PR and comms for charity and arts and is responsible for the day to day running of Pelican Parcels.
- James is a dad to the same three children and works in financial services as a Chief Risk and Compliance Officer leading on governance, risk and compliance issues. He is Chair of Trustees.
- Carla Pannett is mum to two amazing girls and runs multi-million pound fundraising campaigns.
- Lucy Stone is an award-winning fundraiser working with multiples arts organisations and charities.
- Sarah Mann is CEO of Friends Families and Travellers with extensive leadership, strategic and operational experience.
- Debby Norris runs her own chartered accountancy business and has vast business management and advisory experience including 6 years with FTSE 100 plc companies. She is the Treasurer.
Charity Status
Pelican Parcels is a registered charity in England and Wales (1179866). We operate on a not-for-profit basis, supporting disadvantaged families and carers in Brighton & Hove, Sussex.
Join us
Pelican Parcels needs YOU! The generosity and dedication of our volunteers is what makes our charity a success.
We need volunteers to help sort through donations; check toys are complete; clean items for families, check and fold clothing, package up parcels and undertake a variety of tasks. If you can offer a minimum of 2 hours a week, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us an email for a volunteer application form.
Help shape a charity where every child has what they need
Pelican Parcels looking to recruit new trustees
Every week in Brighton & Hove, families are struggling to afford the basics for their children, such as clothes, beds, nappies, and school uniforms.
Pelican Parcels exists to change that.
Since 2018, we’ve supported over 30,000 children and their families. Last year alone, we supported over 7,000 children and their families, providing essential items with dignity, care and compassion. Whether it’s a warm coat, a safe place to sleep, or a Christmas or Eid present, each parcel is a practical form of support and a reminder that families are seen and valued.
We are now looking for new Trustees to join our dynamic and committed Board at an exciting moment, as we grow our team, expand our reach and respond to increasing demand across our community.
If you care about tackling child poverty and want to be part of something powerful, we’d love to hear from you.
Who we’re looking for
We’re keen to hear from people who can bring fresh perspectives and help strengthen our Board. We are particularly interested in people with experience in:
Duties and commitment of a Trustee
Interested in joining the Board?
This is an opportunity to play a meaningful role in a growing local charity and to help shape what comes next. If you’d like to find out more, we can arrange an informal chat with Shelley Bennett, Co-founder and Trustee.
Email Shelley@pelicanparcels.org.uk to discuss applying.
Pelican Parcels looking to recruit new trustees
Every week in Brighton & Hove, families are struggling to afford the basics for their children, such as clothes, beds, nappies, and school uniforms.
Pelican Parcels exists to change that.
Since 2018, we’ve supported over 30,000 children and their families. Last year alone, we supported over 7,000 children and their families, providing essential items with dignity, care and compassion. Whether it’s a warm coat, a safe place to sleep, or a Christmas or Eid present, each parcel is a practical form of support and a reminder that families are seen and valued.
We are now looking for new Trustees to join our dynamic and committed Board at an exciting moment, as we grow our team, expand our reach and respond to increasing demand across our community.
If you care about tackling child poverty and want to be part of something powerful, we’d love to hear from you.
Who we’re looking for
We’re keen to hear from people who can bring fresh perspectives and help strengthen our Board. We are particularly interested in people with experience in:
- Fundraising
- HR / people and culture
- Lived experience of the issues we are addressing
Duties and commitment of a Trustee
- Committed to the mission and vision of Pelican Parcels
- Attending quarterly Trustee meetings
- Attending sub-group specific meetings or occasional consultation/input between meetings as required
- Attendance at a trustee board away day
- Supporting and promoting Pelican Parcels at internal and external events
- Interested in helping a small but ambitious charity grow and develop
- Objective thinker, able to identify key issues and support decision making
- Good communicator who can constructively challenge respectfully
- Works effectively as part of a team, valuing others’ perspectives
- Shares our commitment to treating families with dignity, care and respect
Interested in joining the Board?
This is an opportunity to play a meaningful role in a growing local charity and to help shape what comes next. If you’d like to find out more, we can arrange an informal chat with Shelley Bennett, Co-founder and Trustee.
Email Shelley@pelicanparcels.org.uk to discuss applying.
Testimonials
“As the manager of Brighton & Hove’s City Council’s Family Information Service (FIS), my team has noticed an increase in the number of families facing financial hardship and contacting our service for support. Welfare reform, the insecurity and high cost of housing along with a high instance of mental and physical health issues in the city have all impacted on the ability of families to cope with day to day living costs and the expense of additional items needed at various stages in a family’s life.
At the Family Information Service, we offer advice and support to families and make referrals to foodbanks, the Local Discretionary Fund and apply to charitable trusts for grants. However, there is a real gap when sourcing items in emergencies locally, or when the criteria are not met for assistance…We fully support the work Pelican Parcels is trying to do.”
“I really want to thank you for all the items that was given to me. It was more than ever thought I would receive from baby vests to a whole buggy, moses basket etc. I don’t know what I would have done without all the donations. I’m a young mum and I’m not working so I was stressing so much, plus my baby came 2 months early so I really not prepared it. I had nothing for the baby! So again I just want to say a huge Thank you again for your generosity it has really helped me and my baby more than you would imagine. <3 I plan to donate once my baby has grown out of his clothes.”
“The mum who received the clothes and shoes for her 2 children was so overwhelmed by the generosity of the two big bags she cried. She rang me the other day to say to pass on a Huge Thank you to you all and had been going through all the clothes her two had grown out of and wanted to give back to you if she could so I said I would find out if you were taking donations?”
“The service I work for has used yours for many of our families and you are making a huge impact. This kind of support is life changing for many families, not just because of the practical things they receive but because of the message it carries. They know someone cares, and that there is hope – and most of all that there is kindness in this world.”
