Trustees' Report and Accounts unaudited For the year ended 31 December 2025 Little Stars Baby Bank Registered Charity No. 1191130 www.littlestarscharity.org
Little Stars Baby Bank Financial statements for the period ended 31 December 2025 Reference and administration details
Charity registration number 1191130 Registered office address Little Stars Unit 4 Hussey Road Battlefield Enterprise Park Shrewsbury SY1 3TE Accountants TCA (Shrewsbury) LLP Third Floor 21 St Mary's Street Shrewsbury Shropshire SY1 1ED Bankers CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenue West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ HSBC 127 High Street Hounslow Middlesex TW3 1QP Trustees I Groves – Chair (appointed 27[th] March 2025) C Williams – Vice Chair S Bates – Secretary A Beeston – Treasurer J Seabright E Shaw (appointed 28[th] March 2025) A Garmaston (resigned 11[th] August 2025) D Kortas (resigned 20[th] March 2025)
Table of CONTENTS
Trustees' report
Independent examiners report
Receipts and payments account
Statement of funds
Trustees‘Annual Report
The Trustees of Little Stars Baby Bank are pleased to present their report and the financial statements for the period ended 31 December 2025.
RV and SS
Our vision at Little Stars is to ensure babies and children across Shropshire have access to the essentials they need at every stage of childhood.
Our mission is both simple and urgent: to provide practical support to families across Shropshire by ensuring no baby or child goes without the childhood essentials during the most vulnerable time of their life.
We believe that every family, no matter how complex their situation, should be shown kindness and support at the time they need it most.
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LITTLE STARS
StatementofPublicBenefit
We transform community donations into curated support bundles, we protect the physical health of infants, the mental well-being of parents, and the health of our local environment—all while providing a vital resource for the county’s frontline professionals.
The trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. We deliver this benefit through three primary pillars:
Our Objectives
Relieving Financial Hardship: Working in partnership with frontline organisations to provide immediate relief for families who cannot afford the basic essentials required for their children’s health and safety. Promoting Environmental Sustainability: Ensuring the provision of high-quality, preloved items to families in need, thereby reducing landfill waste and fostering a circular economy within the local community. Protecting Maternal and Neonatal Well-being: Providing expectant mothers with the essential provisions required for a safe and dignified post-birth experience for both mother and baby.
Dignity and Health for Families: We believe every child deserves a fair start in life. By providing essentials—from clothing to safety equipment—we deliver more than supplies; we deliver relief and hope. Our service acts as a vital safety net that alleviates the 'toxic stress' of poverty on parents, ensuring babies and young children are kept clean, safe, and warm.
Wider community: We foster a circular local economy by diverting high-quality, pre-loved items from landfills. This provides a purposeful channel for community generosity and significantly reduces the environmental impact of textile waste within the county.
Systemic Support for Professionals: We empower our referral partners, by providing a reliable central hub for children and baby essentials, we strengthen the support network available to Shropshire’s most vulnerable residents.
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Due to the vital support of our fundraisers and donors, Little Stars is able to supplement these bundles with brand-new equipment that cannot be donated as preloved for safety or hygiene reasons. This voluntary income is the lifeblood of our organisation; it enables us to not only continue our daily work but to actively develop our service to reach more families in need.
Our services are accessible to any family in need through our professional referral network, ensuring that our benefit is directed toward a sufficient and inclusive section of the public.
Structure, governanceand management
Little Stars is a Charitable Incorporation Organisation ("CIO") which was registered with the Charity Commission on 3rd September 2020 and is governed by a constitution as a Foundation CIO.
Trustee Recruitment and Induction: New Trustees are recruited openly in line with the Little Stars Trustee Recruitment Policy. To ensure a professional and transparent transition, all new Trustees receive a comprehensive induction and a set of key governing documents to enable them to fulfill their legal and strategic roles effectively.
Governance and Board Effectiveness: The Board of Trustees conducts an annual skills analysis to ensure the charity is supported by a suitable range of knowledge and expertise. Where a skills gap is identified, we proactively seek to recruit Trustees who can bridge that gap.
Risk Management: The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the strategic, operational, and financial risks to which the charity is exposed. We ensure that appropriate controls and policies are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud, error, and safeguarding risks, protecting the charity’s beneficiaries and assets.
The Board is committed to the principles of the Charity Governance Code for Small Charities. We treat this as an ongoing process of improvement and are actively working toward fulfilling all aspects of the code to ensure the highest standards of integrity and transparency.
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A note fromour CEO
The past year has been one of significant growth and vital intervention for Little Stars. As the cost-of-living crisis continued to strain households across Shropshire, we met an 11% increase in demand, ensuring that the most vulnerable members of our community were supported when they needed it most.
A Foundation of Partnership Since 2020, we have built strong, trusted partnerships with those on the frontline. By becoming a reputable support service, we have grown a professional referral network that now comprises over 150 partners. These collaborations provide us with a deeper understanding of the specific needs within our local communities. Our support now extends far beyond general poverty alleviation; we act as a lifeline for children fleeing domestic abuse, those removed from their homes due to neglect, and newly arrived refugees seeking safety.
Our Impact This year, we ensured that 846 children across Shropshire received the essential items they needed to thrive. From safe-sleep equipment to warm clothing, our bespoke bundles provided more than just physical goods—they provided the foundation for a safe and healthy childhood.
Our impact extends to the whole family. By providing 102 adults with essential toiletries and specialised maternity packs, we addressed a critical gap in hygiene poverty.
A Scalable Solution to "Essential Poverty" The 11% rise in children supported this year is a testament to both the growing need in our county and the efficiency of our referral-based model. To keep pace with this momentum, we recently transitioned into a new, larger premises. This move provides the vital infrastructure needed to expand our team and provides the physical capacity to meet the ever-increasing demand for our services.
We have proven that Little Stars is a resilient, scalable solution to "essential poverty" in Shropshire. As we look forward, we are now better equipped than ever to evolve alongside our community, ensuring that no child has to go without the essentials of childhood.
Leanne Simcoe Founder and CEO
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Campaigns
We provide essential items for every stage of childhood as our service encompasses a baby bank, tots to teen support, and a school uniform bank. We take pre-loved items generously donated by the community and compile unique bundles, which are supplemented with new equipment and basic hygiene products that are then gifted to the families referred to us.
Baby Bank
Our baby bank ensures every infant has a safe and comfortable start in life. We provide the essentials families need most: a secure place for newborns to sleep, prams to help parents stay mobile, highchairs for safe weaning, and safety gates to protect curious crawlers.
Tots to Teens
We know that childhood does not stop after the toddler years – and neither should our support. That is why we created Tots to Teens. This ensures children from ages two to thirteen receive the practical help they need to grow, learn, and feel confident in themselves, no matter what life throws their way.
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Campaigns
Cool for School
Every child deserves to walk into school proud and confident. Yet for many families across Shropshire and Telford, school uniforms are a source of stress due to the high cost. That is why Little Stars set up the Cool for School campaign. We provide clean, ready to wear uniforms to children in need, allowing them to fit in with their peers.
We work closely with schools and local organisations who refer families facing financial strain. Whether a required blazer is too small or a jumper is worn thin, we step in to help. Our stock is made up of quality non-branded preloved items donated by the community – from shirts and trousers to skirts, ties, jumpers and PE kits.
Santa’s Little Stars
Since its inception in 2020, our Santa’s Little Stars campaign has grown from a small local initiative into a major county-wide operation. Christmas often acts as a "breaking point" for families and is a challenging time for household budgets.
In 2020, we provided Christmas gifts for 14 children. By 2025, that number reached a record 707 children. This incredible growth represents a fifty-fold increase in our reach, ensuring that no child is forgotten during the holiday season.
The 33% increase in demand over the last year highlights the growing pressure on household budgets during the festive period. By providing these gifts, we help ease the burden on parents, allowing them to share in the joy of the season with their children. Our ability to meet this record-breaking request for support is a testament to the extraordinary kindness of our Shropshire community and the dedication of our referral partners, who help us ensure the magic of Christmas reaches every home.
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Testimonials
We work closely with our referral partners to gather feedback and case studies so that we can understand the impact our work. It helps us to identify areas where we can make changes and improve the services we offer.
“The family have limited income and are struggling financially. Their ability to seek employment is impacted by their health and the potential conditions they are being assessed for. They therefore claim Universal Credit, however this is not adequate to provide for their family and rely on food banks and baby banks to get by. The provision of powdered formula milk for this family enables them to make up their young baby’s formula feeds as per the instructions and recommendations rather than resorting to “watering down” the formula powder to make it last longer, which would likely have a negative impact on the health of their baby.”
“Mum fled DA with her 3 young children. Mum did not have anything for the children and needed essential items such as clothes, travel cots, toys to stimulate the children whilst in refuge, and buggies. By providing this support, it will comfort the children who were unable to take any of their toys or home comforts with them into the refuge. It will also support and empower mum knowing that she has support from other organisations and professionals reducing the likelihood of her returning to the abusive relationship due to finances.”
“This vulnerable family have a son with diagnosed learning needs and behavioural challenges, they are providing as well as they are able but struggling to maintain the level of clothing a growing boy needs so the clothing provision you will supply will be invaluable in allowing him to dress appropriately for the warmer weather. His personal hygiene is an area of concern and the provision of the toiletries and oral care products will enable me to focus on this area with him. A further area needing to be
addressed is his personal space and making this a safe and attractive space for him to be, hence the bedding request as this is currently lacking.
The difference this will make for the family is to relieve the financial burden, for the young lad himself it will be so important in his own self of pride in his appearance and in that of his room.”
LITTLE STARS
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Environment impact
Based on this year’s redistribution of 846 children’s bundles and shop sales:
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Carbon Reduction: We have diverted significant textile waste from landfills. Reusing just one child’s garment saves approximately 2kg of CO_2—the equivalent of charging a smartphone 33 times.
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Water Conservation: Producing new cotton clothing is incredibly waterintensive. By giving items a second life, we save an average of 750 litres of water per garment, helping to conserve vital natural resources.
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Plastic Waste Mitigation: The toy industry is the most plastic-intensive in the world, with 80% of toys ending up in landfills. Durable, high-quality toys and equipment (such as cots and strollers) remain in use for their full lifespan, preventing hundreds of kilograms of plastic and metal from entering the waste stream.
LITTLE STARS
Our Volunteers
The vital work we do would simply not be possible without the dedication of those who gift us their time. We are incredibly fortunate to be supported by a committed core of weekly volunteers, alongside corporate partners who contribute through their dedicated volunteer days. Without their collective effort, the logistical challenge of sorting donations for families would be insurmountable.
Our volunteers bring a wealth of lived experience; many are at different stages of parenthood or grandparenthood and were inspired to join Little Stars through their own journeys. They deeply understand the pressures parents face at every stage of a child’s life. For example, one of our volunteers first encountered Little Stars while fostering a sixmonth-old baby and receiving a bundle via a social worker. Touched by that support, she followed our progress for two years before joining us as a volunteer once the child started nursery.
Our volunteer roles are diverse and essential. We have teams managing warehouse sorting, providing customer service in our shop, and handling heavy lifting and equipment 'MOTs' to ensure every item is safe and gift-ready. We are also proud to support young people through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, providing them with a meaningful environment to complete their volunteering service.
THIS YEAR, OUR VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTED A REMARKABLE 758.5 HOURS OF SERVICE—A CONTRIBUTION VALUED AT OVER £9,200 BASED ON THE NATIONAL LIVING WAGE. WE ARE PROUD OF OUR WONDERFUL 'VOLUNTEER FAMILY' AND REMAIN PROFOUNDLY GRATEFUL FOR THE DEDICATION AND HEART THEY BRING TO OUR MISSION.
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Our Corporate Partnerships
Aico: Our longstanding corporate partner continued their generous support throughout 2025, providing vital financial contributions to sustain our services, as well as monthly volunteers and a van for our donation drop-off mornings. They also actively supported our Santa’s Little Stars and Wear Stars for Little Stars campaigns, with staff leading their own fundraising initiatives to further strengthen their impact.
Start Tech: are a valued corporate supporter. They not only provide us with our cyber security package and assist us with all our IT needs, they also raise our profile, come to our events and even have a Tuck Shop where all money is donated to Little Stars. Through their fundraising efforts they raised £1896 in 2025.
The Darwin Centre: has continued their incredible support this year, providing space for our corporate wrapping days, photoshoot fundraiser, and the Little Stars Shop. They helped raise £220.03 with their polar bear display, hosted donation points for our Santa’s Little Stars campaign, and generously supplied marketing materials and storage for collected gifts.
The Alb: hosted our Musical Bingo fundraiser, created a special cocktail with a portion of proceeds supporting Little Stars, and generously contributed prizes for our events and raffles.
LITTLE STARS
Clickingmad:
We are thrilled to have partnered with Bridgnorth based digital agency Clickingmad, who generously funded and delivered our brand-new website. They also volunteered with us and supported our Wear Stars for Little Stars campaign.
Claremont Social Tap: Claremont Social Tap continued their support in 2025, hosting two quiz evenings, donating numerous prizes, and awarding an additional donation of £1,500 to Little Stars.
DecoStitch: .
DecoStitch provided tops for our London Marathon runner as well as our 10 Shrewsbury Half and metric half runners. Mike also volunteered at our Little Stars shop.
Beefy Boys:
Staff at Beefy Boys Shrewsbury chose Little Stars as their charity for the first quarter of the year, and thanks to the generosity of their customers, they raised an incredible £1,000!
LITTLE STARS
Hadley Park House Hotel:
We were delighted to be part of a special Christmas celebration hosted by Hadley Park House Hotel for families supported by Little Stars. The team created a magical festive experience, welcoming children and their parents or carers for afternoon tea, festive entertainment, and a visit from Santa, with gifts for every child.
Corporate Volunteers:
We have had more corporate volunteers providing support and helping us sort all the wonderful donations we receive. Over the year they gave us 163 hours of time, thank you to Apha, ClickingMad, Aico, WSP, Aico, WR Partners, DecoStitch, Nationwide Building Society.
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Our School Partnerships
St Winefrides:
St Winefrides continued to be an outstanding partner throughout 2025, providing sustained and meaningful support across fundraising, volunteering and donation drives. From an Easter clothing collection and a 12 Days of Advent campaign, to taking part in Wear Stars for Little Stars Week the school community consistently demonstrated generosity and commitment. Pupils also volunteered in the Little Stars shop, gaining first-hand insight into our work, while a member of staff joined Team Little Stars at the Shrewsbury Metric-Half Marathon.
Adcote School:
Year 8 students at Adcote School held a fundraising Christmas Fair and decided to donate the money they raised to support Little Stars. They raised an amazing £231.21.
Oswestry School: Pupils at Oswestry School's OsBiz raised an amazing £286.27 for Little Stars.
Community Partnership
Football Festival:
Shropshire Junior Football League hosted their Under 7 Football Festival in September and raised an amazing £654 to help us continue providing essentials to local children and families.
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Children supporting Little Stars
Jensen:
We were absolutely blown away by Jensen, age 9 and his dad Andrew, who took on an incredible challenge this summer, cycling over 74 miles from Shrewsbury to Barmouth on the longest day of the year! Jensen showed amazing determination, tackling tough hills and coastal roads to reach Barmouth before sunset. Together they raised an incredible £2,808.75, split equally between Little Stars and The Shrewsbury Rotary Club, including £1,000 of matched funding. At just nine years old, Jensen has shown what a huge difference one small person can make.
Bella:
Nine-year-old Bella, one of our incredible young fundraisers, set herself the challenge of running 40 kilometres in April with the aim of raising £100 for Little Stars. In an inspiring show of determination and community support, she went on to raise an outstanding £1,072. We are also extremely grateful to Motability Operations Ltd for match-funding £500 of Bella’s total, further increasing the impact of her remarkable achievement.
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2025 Fundraisers
Musical Bingo remains a firm favourite in our events calendar. This year, we were delighted to be hosted by The Alb, who put on a fantastic evening of entertainment. They even invited our team to create a signature cocktail, which was sold both on the night and throughout the summer to raise vital funds. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, the event raised £1,055, with an additional £400 generated by cocktail sales over the year.
Paint & Sip hosted by The ArtMixer Our hosts, Roger and Jo, brought the event to life: Roger serenaded us with live music while Jo led a step-by-step art tutorial, guiding everyone through a beautiful painting inspired by Starry Night by Van Gogh. The event raised £170.
London Marathon- David proudly joined Team Little Stars to take on the London Marathon, showing incredible commitment and determination in support of our work. Training for and completing such an iconic challenge is no small achievement, and we are hugely grateful that David chose to dedicate his efforts to Little Stars. Through his fundraising, he raised an incredible £2,742.
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2025 Fundraisers
Our staple "Wear Stars 4 Little Stars" fundraiser took place for the second year running and raising funds for project night-time. We built on last year and more businesses and schools got involved wearing their starry pyjamas, whilst raising money. We raised an incredible £3,238. From bake-offs and star costumes to pyjama days and quizzes, the creativity and commitment shown by our community were truly inspiring.
Huge thanks to the amazing businesses who took part and joined in the fun: Aico, Start Tech, Clickingmad Ltd and Komplex Group for participating in our Wear Stars or PJ day and raising money throughout the week and teams from TCA Accountants and Business Advisors, Start Tech, Lanyon Bowdler and WSP for coming to our quiz night!
Big thanks to the wonderful schools across Shropshire who joined in and supported us: St Winefride's RC in Shrewsbury, Weston Lullingfield School, Whittington Primary in Oswestry and St Mary's CE in Albrighton.
Thank you to the incredible venues and people who hosted events for us: Claremont Social Tap, The Cock Hotel in Wellington, Art Mixer and Shropshire Distillery.
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2025 Fundraisers
The Shrewsbury Half Marathon is a new addition to our annual events calendar, and our debut outing was a resounding success. A dedicated team of 10 runners, including staff members Chantal and Leanne, completed either the Metric or Full Half Marathon. Through their hard work and the generosity of their supporters, the team raised a total of £1,607.
Family Stargazing Event-The evening was packed with fascinating astronomy talks, demonstrations about rocks and the solar system, and fun craft and colouring activities for our youngest supporters. Families enjoyed making rockets, learning about constellations, and exploring the wonders of space in a hands-on way: a truly educational and fun experience for all ages. Raising a wonderful £225.50
Christmas Family Photoshoot Our Family Photoshoot event with Victoria J Photography was a wonderful success, bringing smiles to families and raising £364.25 for Little Stars. We are incredibly grateful to Vicki from Victoria J Photography for donating her time and expertise, and to The Darwin Centre for providing the perfect welcoming space and are looking forward to collaborating again in 2026.
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2025 Fundraisers
Santa’s Little Stars fundraiser:
This year the support came in it’s droves, through kindly donated gifts or monetary donations, we are extremely grateful to all who supported us and raised awareness for the campaign.
We supported 707 children and each of them received multiple gifts each.
December also saw two busy corporate wrapping days, with around 60 volunteers
helping sort and wrap thousands of gifts for referral partners. The Darwin generously hosted these days and supported the campaign with donation boxes, promotion, and space for our volunteers.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE TEAMS FROM BARCLAYS UK, HSBC, AICO, KOMPLEX GROUP, WELCOME BREAK, WSP, START TECH, 4 ALL FOUNDATION, APHA, AND TCA SHREWSBURY LLP FOR GIVING THEIR TIME AND ENERGY.
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2025 Fundraisers
December Fundraisers
This December, Little Stars was overwhelmed by the generosity of the community, businesses, schools, and corporate partners. They contributed in countless creative ways—through fairs, quizzes, raffles, bake sales, concerts, workplace fundraising, and online donation drives. Here are some of the highlights.
THANKS TO THOUSANDS OF DONATED GIFTS AND THE DEDICATION OF OUR VOLUNTEERS, GIFTS WERE COLLECTED, SORTED, AND WRAPPED, WHILE FUNDRAISING EFFORTS RAISED OVER £5,000.
Shuker Group went above and beyond raising a huge £1766 and donating over £1000 worth of toys.
Estate Agents in Shrewsbury town centre led by Samuel Woods, organised a Bakeoff event raising over £200 to buy gifts for our Christmas campaign.
Lanyon Bowdler established a donation drop-off point at their Shrewsbury office, with staff generously contributing a wonderful selection of gifts to support our Santa’s Little Stars campaign. We look forward to strengthening and developing this partnership further in the year ahead.
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2025 Fundraisers
Jules Convenience Store Julie Kaur and her customers at Jules Convenience donated £750 to Little Stars, raised through a raffle and Christmas Fair.
Floro Lounge Shrewsbury, supported us throughout December through a special hot drink, jumper day, a giving tree and a quiz night.
Theatre Severn once again supported us and we were able to be at the end of three pantomime shows to collect money for Little Stars, the public were extremely generous and we raised £761.75 across the three shows.
A HUGE THANK YOU ALSO TO:
Bayston Hill Community, The Crafty Dragon, DY USA, SUEZ, Barclays, Faintree Škoda, Gobowen WI, Harley Village Hall, Laura Jane, Cadence Singers, Ackleton Village Hall, Pertemps, APHA, WSP, Samuel Wood, Pipekit, JN Bentley, V&D Interiors, TCA Accountants and Business Advisors, Aaron & Partners LLP, Lanyon Bowdler, Halifax, Start Tech, Pertemps, Aico, Endorph Fitness, Oxbow Care Home, Severnfields Medical Practice,Petrofer UK Limited,St.John
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External Recognition and Community Impact
2025 has been a significant year for the external profile of Little Stars, with the charity receiving prestigious recognition at both a national and local level.
National Leadership: Best Businesswomen Awards 2025
We are incredibly proud of our Founder and CEO, Leanne Simcoe, who was named a Silver Award winner in the ‘Charity Champion’ category at the national Best Businesswomen Awards. Selected by an expert panel from hundreds of entries, this award recognizes the tenacity, innovation, and resilience required to build and lead a successful charity.
Leanne noted that being recognized for the work she has done in building Little Stars is "extremely special," particularly as it highlights the professional excellence required to lead in the third sector. This accolade provides strong external validation of the charity’s leadership and strategic direction.
Local Impact: The Mayor of Shrewsbury’s Awards
Following our national success, Little Stars was honored locally at the Mayor of Shrewsbury’s Award Ceremony. The charity was recognised in the Youth Category for our dedicated work supporting children and families across the Shrewsbury community.
The Trustees are delighted that the impact of our frontline services has been highlighted by the Shrewsbury Town Council. Being celebrated alongside other passionate local organisations reinforces Little Stars' position as a vital pillar of the Shropshire community. We extend our thanks to the Mayor of Shrewsbury for this recognition, which serves as a testament to the hard work of our entire team and our commitment to local families.
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Launchofournewwebsite
Created in partnership with Bridgnorth-based digital agency Clickingmad as one of their 25 in 25 Acts of Kindness .
The new website marks an important step forward for the charity. Little Stars has grown significantly over the past few years, and the team wanted a site that reflected that progress: making information simple to find and offering a clearer, more welcoming experience for families, referral partners, volunteers and supporters.
The new design brings together everything people need in one place, with dedicated sections for Get Involved, What We Do, and Get Support, making it easier than ever to understand how the charity works and how to access help. Another exciting addition is the improved Volunteer Opportunities area, enabling people to explore ways they can support Little Stars throughout the year. The charity is also proud to introduce its new Events Page, where all planned 2026 events are displayed in one easy-to-navigate space, helping the community plan ahead and get involved.
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LITTLE STARS
Ournewhome
Chantal Cassini-Jones, Hannah Stoddart, Mel Love and Leanne Simcoe Little Stars Operational Team
Following five years of sustained growth, Little Stars reached a significant strategic milestone with the establishment of a new headquarters at Unit 4, Hussey Road, Shrewsbury.
This move to Battlefield Enterprise Park marks a transformative chapter for the charity, providing a dedicated hub for our administrative, logistical, and volunteer operations. By integrating our warehouse and office functions, we have significantly enhanced our operational capacity and streamlined donation management. Furthermore, the facility allows us to host schools and corporate groups, effectively deepening our local partnerships.
Ultimately, this investment in our infrastructure directly supports our core mission: providing the essentials babies and children need to remain clean, clothed, and safe.
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LITTLE STARS
Looking Ahead: Our Strategy
As we reflect on a year of significant growth, our focus turns to ensuring that Little Stars remains a robust, permanent, and evolving resource for our county. Over the coming year, our strategic priorities are:
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Strengthening Our Infrastructure To meet the sustained 11% year-on-year increase in demand, we will focus on optimising our logistics and storage capabilities. This ensures our operational backbone is strong enough to support the growing number of families relying on our service.
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Retail: Our shop in the Darwin Centre has proven that we can provide a "buffer" for families wanting low cost clothing for their children. We will continue to develop the shop not just as a retail space, but as a vital touchpoint for the community—increasing awareness of our services and fostering a culture of sustainable, purposeful shopping.
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Environmental: As we grow, so does our responsibility to the planet. We will implement new ways to quantify and communicate our environmental impact, demonstrating how the circular economy directly benefits both the local climate and our community’s most vulnerable residents.
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Partnerships: We are committed to deepening our network of referral partners to ensure our services reach the most isolated families across the county. By fostering new collaborations with frontline agencies, local authorities, and corporate partners, we aim to bridge gaps in support and ensure no family in Shropshire falls through the cracks.
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LookingAheAd..Ourl-5year rl JANUARY 2026 OPERATIONAL PRIORfTIES Secure our own office and warehouse space Employ a dedicated Referral Coordinator Implement a robust volunteer recruitment and retention program Establish a Corporate Ambassadors program Integrate a new CAM (Customer Relationship Management) system Develop robust, easy-to.use docLtments for the entire operation Implement a system to track and log our carbon offsetting efforts m JANUARY 2028 OPERATIONAL PAIORITIES Secure a new, larger shop location with increased footfall Ernploy a dedi¢ated Volunteer Coordinator to improve recruitment and retention Creaie distirt¢t roles by splitting the responsibilities of mJrketln8 and fyndrai¥ni Establish and recruit a new Advisory Board to provide strategic guidance in JANUARY 2030 opEriATIOIIAL PRIOArriEs Be awarded the prestigious King's Award for Voluntary Servlce Become a recognised leader on chiLdhood poverty in Shropshire and an authofltative voice on pollcy Actively advocate and lobby for changè on a local and national level 25
Acknowledgments
We were extremely lucky by all the support provided through various resources and we could not have accomplished what we did in 2025 without that support.
Little Stars have been delighted with the support of so many wonderful families, individuals, and organisations.
Thank you to the families and individuals who donate their pre-loved baby and children clothing for Little Stars to pass onto other families in need of a helping hand.
Thank you to all the individuals who have donated money to Little Stars and to Morrisons customers who buy the pick-up packs that keep us stocked up with nappies, wipes and toiletries.
Special thanks to our funders for supporting our work.
Millichope Foundation Postcode Lottery Severn Trent community fund Lillie Johnson Trust Masonic Charitable Foundation St James Place Welcome Break High Sheriff of Shropshire Fund Household support fund Morrisons Co-op HomePlus Tesco Community Grant The Haberdashers' Company Albert Hunt Trust Barclays
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Financial review and reserves policy
The Charity has had another successful year, generating income of £209,526. Expenditure for the year was £119,411, leaving £154,117 in monetary funds carried forward. £65,376 of this is restricted funding, as set out on page 30.
The trustees agree to hold free reserves in the region of £53,050. This is to ensure that there are sufficient funds to cover the payroll and rent costs of the charity for 5 months. Trustees have taken possible risks into account.
The Trustees agree to continuously monitor this as the charity grows and develops to ensure the amount held in reserves mirrors the level of activity.
The free reserves of the Charity at the year end, calculated as unrestricted funds, less fixed assets and designated funds, were £54,365.
Basis of Accounting
The accounts of the charity have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis in accordance with charity regulations.
This report was approved by the Board and signed on its behalf by Ian Groves.
Signed by
Ian Groves – Chair Trustee 17th March 2026
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LITTLE STARS
Little Stars Baby Bafik Independent Examlners Report for the year ended 11 December 2025 I teport to the Iharity trustèe5 on rny examination of the accounts of the charity for the period ended 31 December 2025 which ar set out on pages 29 to 30. This report is made solely to the charlty'5 trustees, a5 a body. in accordance wlth settion 145 of the Charities Act 2011 and regulation5 made under section 154 of thHt Act. My work has been Undertaken so that I might slate io the charity's trustees those mdtters l am required to Stale to thÈrn in an Independent Examinèrs REport and for no oiher purpose. lo Ihe lulle5t exteni permitted by law, I do not accept Dr assume responsibility to anyone other than the chèrity and the choritY'5 rrustee5 as a body, FOT my work or for this report. Responslbllltles basls of report As the charity's tiJstee5 you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in 6ccordantÈ with the requirements of the Charitles Act 20111'the Act'l I report In re5peci of my ex3minatlon of the choritV'5 oc¢ountS tarried out under section 14S of the Act and In carryln8 Out mv exjrnination 1 h3ve followed all the app1ic•ble DrectionS given by the Charlty Commisslon under section 14515llbl ol the Act, Independent E¥•mlneF'5 5tJtement I have completed My examlnaiion. l confirm that no materlal mztlers hève come to my attention In ctsnnectlon with the examination 8ivin8 me cèuse to belleve that Iii Any mlterial re5pecl.' ccounling record5 were not kept In respect ol the charity as required by section 130 of the Att,. or the 6ctount5 dts not aecofd with IhDse records. I h&ve no ¢on¢erns ond have Come across no other matters In conne£tlon wllh the examlnatlon lo which attention Should be dr8wn In thls report In order 10 enable a proper understandln8 of the acceunts to be reached. Mrs C L M)¢lvryn-Wllll#ms BS¢ FCA TCA Ishrewsburyl LLP Third Floor 21 St Maiy's Street Shrewsburv Shropshire SYI IED Dote. ISE hpri l 2CY26 28
| Receipts Grants Donations and fundraising income Bank Interest received Halloween ball income Shop Sales income Total Receipts Payments Charitable activities Purchases for service users Costs of fundraising Fundraising events and promotion Halloween Ball Support costs Wages and Salaries Employers National Insurance Employers Pension Contributions Accountancy Consultancy Insurance Marketing Office admin (inc'g telephone) Bank charges Rent and storage costs Premises costs IT costs & Website Vehicle costs Training Sundry Shop Expenditure Total Payments Net (Payments)/Receipts Cash and bank balances brought forward Cash and bank balances carried forward Little Sta Financial statements for th Receipts and |
Unrestricted Restricted Total 2025 2025 2025 £ £ £ 40,801 93,216 134,017 60,471 - 60,471 160 - 160 - - - 14,878 - 14,878 116,310 93,216 209,526 80 10,488 10,568 402 1,551 1,953 - - - 49,116 28,423 77,539 - - - 1,581 - 1,581 1,734 - 1,734 3,906 - 3,906 669 105 774 - 1,109 1,109 60 365 425 127 - 127 - 10,833 10,833 - 288 288 - 5,506 5,506 406 - 406 229 - 229 199 - 199 2,234 - 2,234 60,743 58,668 119,411 55,567 34,548 90,115 33,174 30,828 64,002 88,741 65,376 154,117 rs Baby Bank e year ended 31 December 2025 payments account |
Total 2024 £ 50,620 21,386 140 9,720 5,129 86,995 7,044 970 7,300 65,420 - 1,675 1,992 90 594 854 474 98 - - 1,629 1,023 339 291 2,093 91,886 4,891 - 68,893 64,002 |
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Little Stars Baby Bank Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025 Statement of funds
| Monetary assets Current account HSBC account Paypal account Funds Unrestricted Funds Designated Funds Santa's Little Stars Premises Restricted Funds Shop Other restricted fund - Baby Bank Service National Lottery Community Hubs Core costs Premises Wages School uniform |
Balance at 1st January 2025 Income 29,672 80,609 3,502 2,981 - 32,720 19,309 - 8,955 30,500 - 20,000 2,564 2,716 - 7,000 - 12,000 - 20,000 - 1,000 30,828 93,216 64,002 209,526 |
2025 2024 £ £ 120,914 58,364 33,204 5,568 - 70 154,117 64,002 Balance at Expenditure Transfers 31st December 2025 (55,916) - 54,365 (252) (3,502) 2,729 (4,575) 3,502 31,647 (19,309) - - (9,542) - 29,913 - - 20,000 (5,280) - - (7,000) - - (10,000) - 2,000 (7,215) - 12,785 (322) - 678 (58,668) - 65,376 (119,411) - 154,117 |
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The Designated Fund Santa's Little Stars is for our Christmas campaign. In this campaign, people donate money instead of buying a gift, and we use those funds to purchase gifts for children when our donations fall short.
The Designated Fund Premises is money the Trustees have put aside, moving into new premises in early 2026.
The Other restricted fund relates to restricted funding provided by The Postcode Lottery, Tesco and The National Lottery to be used for the baby bank service.
Community Hubs Fund - This fund relates to our community hubs project, where we are out in communities, helping families with the essential nappies, wipes and toiletries for children and adults, which they can access whilst they are having support from family practictioners and the Early Help teams. This has been fully spent in 2025.
The Shop fund relates to funding for a Shop Manager role for 12 months and Shop project. This has been fully spent in 2025.
National Lottery, funding for a new referral co-ordinator wages for 2 years, due to start in March 2026.
Core costs, funding received to cover core costs of running the charity.
Premises, funding received towards the new premises which are moving into early 2026.
Wages, funding from Severn Trent Water to be used for 12 months wages costs.
School uniform, funding restricted to be spent on school uniform costs.
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