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 12, 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 12. 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 five Trustees:

  • Shelley has three gorgeous children and is a Trustee for Amaze charity supporting families with disabled children in Sussex.
  • James is a dad to the same three children and works in financial services as a Chief Compliance Officer leading on goverance, legal and risk. 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

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.

We currently have no job openings, but do please get in touch if you’re interested in volunteering: volunteer@pelicanparcels.org.uk

 

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.”

Julia Daborn

Information and Marketing Manager, Family Information Service

“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.” 
mum Leanne

“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?” 
Early Years Visitor

Hollingdean Children’s Centre

“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.”
Social worker

Moulsecoomb Children’s Centre