Providing buddy bags for children in crisis

Buddy Bags

This month the Universal Networks team has donated 15 Buddy Bags to children fleeing domestic violence at home. Children who have fled violent situations often need to leave their homes quickly and don’t have time to bring anything with them. The children arrive in emergency accommodation with just the clothes their wearing and no possessions. Buddy Bags can be vitally important to a child, at an extremely difficult time in their lives, helping to restore a sense of love and confort.

It is a backpack containing essential items such as toiletries and underwear, but also items that give the child comfort, such as a teddy bear. The bag is something they can call their own and take with them wherever they go. The bags are tailored to the age group and gender of the child.

More about the project

Domestic abuse accounts for 16% of all violent crime in the UK, however it is still the violent crime least likely to be reported to the police. Victims are afraid. When they then take the important step to leave the situation, they mostly need to leave home quickly without the chance to collect basic items and neither have their children. 48.000 children require emergency accommodation in the UK each year, often leaving everything and everyone familiar behind.

The Buddy Bag Foundation not only provides the children with basic necessities such as toiletries, pyjamas, socks and underwear but they also want to create a sense of comfort and care with a children’s book, a photo frame and a teddy bear.

The Buddy Bag Foundation

To date, the Buddy Bag Foundation has been able to deliver 38,604 Buddy Bags to Women’s Refuges across the UK. These bags are then given to children who enter the refuge after fleeing domestic abuse.

The Foundation has engaged with over 3500 volunteers and raised over £890,665 – all of this money has gone directly to supplying Buddy Bags.

Giving back with B1G1

Universal believe that as a business we have a social responsibility. Every time a customer buys from us, we make a positive difference to someone, somewhere in the World. By partnering up with B1G1 (buy one give one) we select a project that resonates with us and know that 100% of our donation goes directly to that cause. It’s a one to one arrangement – one order, one donation. You can find out more about B1G1 here.