Council Backs Local Charity Pelican Parcels to Help More Families
From left to right, Council Leader Bella Sankey, Elaine Bailey (Pelican Parcels Head of Operations), Shelley Bennett (Pelican Parcels CEO) and Councillor Mitchie Alexander. Image: Brighton and Hove City Council
Brighton and Hove City Council has thrown its weight behind Pelican Parcels, the Hove charity that quietly keeps hundreds of families in nappies, cots and school shoes when money runs short.
Council Leader Bella Sankey and Councillor Mitchie Alexander, Cabinet Member for Communities, Equalities, Public Health and Adult Social Care, went down to the charity's warehouse on Newtown Road last month. They wanted to see how a donated buggy or a bag of clothes actually gets from a stranger's hallway to a family that needs it, and to announce new money to help the charity do more of it.
Pelican Parcels started in December 2018, when Shelley and James Bennett had baby items they no longer needed and couldn't find a local way to pass them on. Nearly seven years later it runs out of a proper warehouse, works with midwives, health visitors, Family Hubs and children's social workers, and builds a parcel for each family based on exactly what that family needs. Clothing, toys, bedding, nappies, moses baskets, cots, small beds, whatever the referral calls for.
The council's pilot funding runs for 2026 to 2027 and is earmarked for 100 extra newborn baby parcels, the result of an Administration Notice of Motion put to Full Council back in December 2024. Alongside the parcels, the council says it is working with Pelican Parcels and referral services to sort out some of the practical barriers families run into, transport, digital access, storage, the sort of thing that sounds small until it stops a family getting the help that's already been offered.
Bella Sankey said the funding was about making sure the council's resources reach the people who need them most.
"Every child deserves the best possible start in life, and no parent should have to worry about going without the essentials their baby needs. It was inspiring to visit Pelican Parcels and meet the dedicated team of staff and volunteers who make such a difference every day. This pilot funding will help the charity reach more families and strengthen the support available for parents across Brighton and Hove."
Mitchie Alexander has known the charity for years, going back to his time working on the CHOMP project.
"Pelican Parcels is a brilliant example of a local community organisation stepping up to support families with compassion and care. The charity responds to what struggling families need and provides practical help at a time when it matters most. Over the years they have helped so many families in our city with thousands of pre-loved and new items, from essential newborn baby products to brand new school shoes."
Who Pelican Parcels Actually Reaches
Families don't refer themselves. A midwife, health visitor, social worker, school or foodbank makes the referral, and Pelican Parcels builds a parcel around what that family's been told they need. In 2025 alone the charity got essentials to more than 6,000 babies, children and families across the city, at a time when roughly one in four children in Brighton and Hove is growing up in poverty.
It runs on donations and a long list of local and national funders, including the National Lottery Community Fund, People's Postcode Lottery, Sussex Community Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and the council itself, plus a stack of smaller local trusts and businesses that keep the warehouse rent paid and the shelves stocked.
Pelican Parcels takes donations Monday to Thursday, 10am to 2pm, and the last Saturday of the month. Referrals go through a professional, not directly from families.
Visit Pelican Parcels