Human Milk Banks
World Day of Human Milk Donation was Sunday 19th May this year, used to highlight the importance of donating milk to newborns.
Nursing lecturer Laura Maguire comments that, “For some mums who are unable to supply their own milk which may be down to separation or illness, donor milk can bridge that gap until there’s a sufficient supply.”
Fellow lecturer Francesca Male says: “Quite often mums who have been in neonatal and have relied on donated milk will often go on to give their own. It’s a way of giving back to charities and donors who have supported them through their journey. It also means that any surplus milk they have won’t be wasted and instead goes to a baby who really needs it!”
https://humanmilkfoundation.org/ may take donations from London mothers, or see the article on Hearts Milk Bank at https://londonist.com/london/features/breastfeeding-breastmilk-babies-milk-bank. Or to find a London milk bank search https://ukamb.org/find-a-milk-bank/. Currently closest would be Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – London [email protected], King’s College Hospital Milk Bank, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital [email protected], and St George’s Hospital Milk Bank [email protected].
Multi-Generational Music Sessions
The Together Project charity runs the inter-generational Songs & Smiles music group aimed for 0-4 year olds, their parents/carer and older adults living in care.
Morning sessions are held in care home/ assisted living complexes with singing, movement, instruments and bubbles, ending in a chat and a cuppa. It is free/donate what you can.
Friday morning sessions are at Duval House, 39 Elthorne Road, N19 4AR at 11am.
For more information see www.thetogetherproject.org.uk and https://thetogetherproject.org.uk/songs-and-smiles
Invest in London Renewables
https://powerupnorthlondon.org/ is a group of volunteers in North London who work with local communities to fund, install, own and manage their own low-carbon energy solutions.
The group offers expertise and models to evaluate and develop community-owned renewable energy solutions to reduce running costs and carbon emissions and include energy efficiency reviews, installation of solar PV, microgrids, batteries, LEDs and more recently renewable heat solutions, covering both the development (including planning applications, tender documents and funding) and the delivery of the projects.
The installations are on community buildings such as schools (Brookfield has benefitted) or churches and funding may be by grant or by community investments. Current projects include 400 solar panels on two secondary schools in the borough of Camden – Parliament Hill in Dartmouth Park and Regent High in Somers Town.
These are being installed in partnership with Camden Council, which has committed £50,000 to the project, and Power Up North London has also launched the community share offer to raise the remaining £130,000 from local people and businesses for the installation of 183kWp of solar panels. The arrays will generate over 150,000 kWh/year, and save 30.5 tonnes of CO2 each year, equivalent to the carbon absorbed by 1398 trees.
Investors would get their money back over 20 years, plus a projected annual interest rate of 4%. For more information see the share offer at https://powerupnorthlondon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PUNL-Parliament-Hill-and-Regent-High-Schools-Share-Offer-1.pdf.
PUNL is always looking for new promising projects in North London. So far they have mainly worked in Camden but are increasingly open to working further afield so if, for example, you think that your children’s school might be suitable you can contact them with the suggestion and PUNL will get in contact with the school and check the viability.
Happity for Activity Listings
The ever useful Hoop app disappeared during lockdown but there is now www.happity.co.uk/about.
Set up by two mums who recognised the importance of mother and child activities to help with loneliness and post natal depression Happity is now the UK’s biggest platform dedicated exclusively to baby and toddler classes (some antenatal ones too).
You can search geographically by post code, or say the class you want is full, also by provider to find others which might have free slots.
Listings are free so if you know anyone offering activities who isn’t yet included, you can prompt them to add their details. All in all, it’s a small business aiming to help other small businesses – what’s not to like?
Addressing Phone Addiction
Jason Elsom (Chief Exec of Parentkind) has called for us to ‘Act now to make a smartphone ban for under-16s work’. It’s part of a growing movement among parents and teachers and those dealing with the increasingly evident mental health crisis among children and teens today.
Elsom argues that, “At best smart phones are a distraction, at worst it means a bully in a pocket of every child who follows them home”, and that’s before all the other anxiety creating-stuff that phones deliver 24/7. It’s perhaps reassuring that some schools are either introducing or considering introducing a ban and initial reports are positive.
But it’s not just children who have a problem of course. So parents might like to take a look at a Guardian programme called Reclaim Your Brain – www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/dec/14/sign-up-to-reclaim-your-brain-our-free-email-to-help-you-scroll-less-and-live-more. Every Monday for five weeks you get sent a short coaching plan by Catherine Price (author of ‘How To Break Up With Your Phone’). And Guardian journalist Rhik Samadder offers a firsthand (amusing) commentary alongside. Users report an average reduction in phone use of 40%.
Children’s Book Project
https://childrensbookproject.co.uk gifts books that children have grown out of to families with very few books of their own. Condition is important so they can’t accept tatty ones, and don’t take encyclopaedias, textbooks, revision books, ex library or reading scheme books, or religious texts. However, that leaves plenty of other options.
The nearest drop off is Wates – N1 Regents Wharf Site N1 9RL which has a 24-hour drop-off box for books for children 0-14 years.
Theatre Skills
Young Actors Theatre www.yati.org.uk is promoting its classes in Archway at Hargrave Hall, Hargrave Road N19 5SP – 11-14 years Mondays 16.45-18.15, 6-11 years Tuesdays 16.45-18.15, and 11-16 years 18.15-19.45 plus Girdlestone Hall Under 151 Salisbury Walk, N19 5DX Mondays 18.30-20.00 14-17 years with 50% off for new students.
The classes cater both for those hoping to become professionals, and children and teens who like the idea of making new friends and learning new skills, which may be useful for work and meeting new people.
Small Business Support
www.growlondonlocal.london/ offers free access to small business support with an online library for events, support programmes and expert-led content designed to help achieve business goals – and the option of personalised recommendations via a Business Success Check.
Omved Gardens
www.omvedgardens.com/ is on the site of the old garden centre behind Highgate High Street. The initiative is gradually building and restoring a sustainable environment for people to reconnect with nature through food and creativity including art and music as well as food growing and cooking. Previously tarmacked land is becoming a diverse habitat with a wildflower meadow, an orchard and a vegetable garden and there is a range of arts activities on site, particularly over the summer months.
