A BABY bank has said its vital shop front will be closed before Christmas if new funding is not found.

The Glasgow Times told earlier this week how Birth, Baby and Beyond was struggling to stay afloat following a rejection by Glasgow City Council.

Now the charity - which has supported around 45,000 families since opening in 2012 - has named a closure date.

Its Dumbarton Road store will shut on Wednesday, December 16 unless money is found.

Natasha Earle, founder of Birth, Baby and Beyond, wrote in a post on Facebook: “Given how hard things are for most people just now we thought it would be too much to ask you for help towards keeping our shop open.

“But lots of people have got in touch asking if they can donate money to help, so we are sharing our Just Giving page again.

“We still have eight weeks to raise money.

“If anyone would like to donate to save our shop it would be greatly appreciated.

Glasgow Times:

“If we do receive donations, but they aren’t enough to keep our shop open, with your permission we will use the funds to purchase baby essentials for our packs while we continue our work from the unit we have.”

Natasha had applied to Glasgow City Council’s new Communities Fund, which replaced the former Integrated Grant Fund.

But her funding application was rejected.

Now, she says, the charity cannot afford to continue to run its shop and so is moving to a storage container so it can still carry out some of its services.

The shop, which is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, is now holding a closing down sale with many items half price.

Supporters held a silent protest outside Glasgow City Chambers earlier this month to highlight the plight of the charity.

As we told earlier this week, it is one of few places where parents can source formula milk for infants as food banks are not allowed to stock it.

Natasha said she was worried about the lack of options for struggling parents, especially as calls for support have risen during the pandemic with 15 calls a day for help.

Glasgow Times:

She said: “Every week our charity delivers Starter Packs and Baby Food Packs to families in need...ensuring that families have safe baby items such as a pram, cot and clothing, and enough infant formula, baby food, nappies and toiletries to last the week.

“We are hopeful that something will come our way eventually, but we can’t continue with our shop the way things are just now.

“Our charity will still be open, and our packs will still be available to families in need.

“Our staff and volunteers will be working from our unit but it will not be a public facing facility.

“Packs will be delivered to families daily and our team will be working on referrals six days a week.

“As a team we are extremely saddened to have to close our shop.

“We are working on a plan for the new year and would like to reassure that our charity will remain open.”

A council spokeswoman said: “Demand for grant support has been exceptional – with applications received for well over double the total value of the fund.

"Unfortunately, this was always going to mean disappointment for some organisations with applications that scored less highly.

“Throughout the entire funding process, organisations have been advised to take the normal prudent steps to plan for unsuccessful grant applications as well as any potential changes to their income.

Glasgow Times:

“It is an ongoing matter of concern that the financial survival of some services has been pinned entirely on one, discretionary, source of funding.

“This is another reason why we have focused a lot of attention over the last few years on capacity building within the sector – and working with organisations and their advocates and support structures to not be reliant on single sources of funding.

"That support continues to be available.”

To donate see www.justgiving.com/campaign/birthbabyandbeyond