When lockdown began in March 2020, Home-Starts across the UK moved fast to help families with deliveries of essential items including food, baby supplies and technology to ensure families stayed connected to Home-Start support. 

Here’s a lookback on what we did together:

MARCH 2020 – Lockdown started. Our COVID Emergency Appeal launched. Supporters (and readers of Family Matters magazine) helped us raise over £178,000 to provide emergency essentials to hundreds of struggling families.

APRIL 2020When panic buying emptied supermarket shelves, Home-Start staff and volunteers distributed food, baby supplies and care packages. Local Home-Starts set up new online groups and support sessions.

MAY 2020We led a collaboration of parent and baby charities to support new and expectant parents resulting in care packages to help improve wellbeing.



JUNE 2020Our ambassador Kirstie Allsopp hosts online sessions for crafters about staying creative and healthy during lockdown to raise money for our COVID Emergency Appeal.

JULY 2020Home-Start Scotland secures funding from the Scottish Government Play fund to buy supplies for families to encourage them to play and spend time outside.

AUGUST 2020We produced our landmark report Babies in Lockdown, alongside Best Beginnings and Parent-Infant Foundation, which revealed the inequalities in babies’ early experiences. 





SEPTEMBER 2020The Duchess of Cambridge met two mums supported by Home-Start Wandsworth to hear how our volunteers helped them during lockdown.

White Stuff donated £50,000 to our COVID Emergency Appeal fund.

OCTOBER 2020Baroness Diana Barran, Minister for Civil Society virtually visited Home-Start Richmond to hear how the grant from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) has been used to help those most at risk of loneliness because of the pandemic.

NOVEMBER 2020£500,000 grant from DCMS was match funded by the Pears Foundation to support the sustainability of local Home-Starts during the pandemic.

DECEMBER 2020John Lewis and Waitrose worked with local Home-Starts to support 13,414 people over Christmas through its Give A Little Love campaign.

JANUARY 2021 - John Lewis and Waitrose pledge to continue to support Home-Start families with a raft of initiatives designed to provide nutrition, warmth and comfort.

FEBRUARY 2021 - Home-Start Scotland is awarded £150,000 by Scottish Government Winter Plan to support families affected by loneliness and isolation.



MARCH 2021
- Home-Start UK calls on the government to extend the COVID catch up to younger children on behalf of the 600,000 babies born during lockdown.




Read Next - Family Matters: A week in the life of a Home-Start volunteer

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