Thank you we’ve delivered 10,000 bags

Buddy bear holding balloons

We recently celebrated our 10,000th bag packed with a fabulous awards ceremony in September 2017 to reward our incredible supporters – and what a wonderful night it was.

Around 75 invited guests, all with a connection to The Buddy Bag Foundation, packed the Harvest Fields Centre in Sutton Coldfield to help us mark our milestone. These were all people we wanted to thank – including fundraisers, sponsors, corporate partners and Buddy Bag Brigade members.

But we also aimed to mark the achievements of people who have gone the extra mile to help us reach children in refuges across the UK and without whom we would be nowhere near the number of bags packed today.

That’s why we held an awards evening. It was humbling and emotional to say thank you – especially as we were joined by a team from one of the refuges we have helped. They shared with us all what a difference our bags packed with love make.

We heard how not only do Buddy Bags show children they are loved at the most uncertain of times, but that their mums also draw hope and strength from people they have never met, packing and sending the bags.

So who won our awards? Some remarkable, caring and committed individuals – that’s who!

Volunteer of the Year was Harry Lent, who at 78 years young is an unstinting presence at each and every Buddy Bag – he’s an absolute star and was presented with his award by Dr. Kamran Shaikh, from Morgan Reach Chartered Accountants.

Our Ambassador of the Year is Julie Scott presented by Martin Ward – Four Oaks Financial Services – Julie has worked tirelessly to spread the word about who we are and what we do, helping us to go from strength to strength, achieving remarkable things alongside all our other ambassadors –

Marie Hames, Tamworth Girl Guiding were honoured for their outstanding contribution as Making a Difference Award presented by Victoria Sears, Future Faces Chamber of Commerce. It was so special to hear them talk about how much they had relished being involved. We’re eternally grateful for all they have done and look forward to more co-operation into the future. The Buddy Bag Foundation Girl Guiding badge has raised over £5000 to date.

Pam Beale from Mission Accomplished also won a deserved award – Corporate Partner of the Year presented by Mark Tonks, LMI for all her hard work – what a difference she has made. Thanks to her direct liaison with the refuges, and making sure the bags reach children, she has forged unbreakable links and fostered relationships that will stand the test of time.

Huge congratulations to Chris Kidd from Link Central presented by Captain Neil Wagstaff, Royal Navy DMS Whittington for picking up the award for the top individual fundraiser with his brilliant efforts at this year’s London marathon with over £5000 raised.

What can we say about Christine Wise? Her award, called Going the extra mile was presented by Kyle Raffo of Expand Digital Media . This inspirational lady cycled from Cambodia to Vietnam, which is more than 400 km (250 miles) and raised more than £2,800 miles into the bargain.

We are very proud of all our award winners and all the other supporters too – it’s great to say thank you

But we aren’t losing sight of our mission. We are more than half way to our target.

Every bag counts – can you help us reach 20,000 bags by 2020?

This post was written by

If you would like to submit a guest blog on our website, you can submit your blog here

The Buddy Bag Foundation

The Buddy Bag Foundation

The Buddy Bag Foundation was founded in 2015 to help make a difference to the 48,000 children entering emergency care every year in the UK. We supply these children with a Buddy Bag containing essential items to help restore a sense of comfort and love.

Your chance to make a difference to a child in emergency care

£25 supplies a child entering emergency accommodation with their own Buddy Bag. 100% of money donated goes to the cause.

Make a donation

What's in a Buddy Bag?

Make a difference and change a life.

Share if you liked this post

Make a difference to a child in emergency care

Make a donation

What's in a Buddy Bag?

100% of money donated goes to the cause.

If you want to donate to us directly, you can pay online or via any Post Office or Lloyds Bank branch to:
Sort code 30-64-10 – Account number: 34186868 – Account name: Buddy Bag Foundation  – Reference: Your name