Littlemore Charity

Laura Howard established Littlemore in March 2013, after hearing a passing comment from her midwife about how some babies born in Auckland hospitals were sent home in baby-sized hospital gowns as their families had no clothes for them.

“As the mum of a newborn myself, my heart was touched and I couldn’t forget that conversation”. Laura Howard – Founder

Over time, word spread, demand grew and it was clear that there was a real need for baby items across Auckland. And from this, the idea of starting a charity to help babies in need was born.

What we do

Littlemore’s driving concept remains very simple: pre-loved baby essentials from one Kiwi to another. Basically, we give baby gear a second life!

Generous families donate baby clothing and other baby items in excellent condition to us. We sort, process and organise these life-changing items, so they can be donated directly to families in need with newborns.

From the outset, we recognised we could make far more of an impact and help more families by partnering with organisations who have the expertise to identify families with the greatest needs. Typically, these families are dealing with a range of serious challenges, such as poor housing, homelessness, poor health, financial distress, relationship breakdown, lack of family support/networks and social isolation, while welcoming a new baby into their home.

How we have grown…

Since 2013, Littlemore has grown significantly, from the small set-up in Laura’s home to the bigger commercial storage space so generously donated by Storage King Grey Lynn to this day.

Littlemore donations have touched thousands of people’s lives every year. The increasing number of community donors from Auckland and nationwide enjoy knowing that their child’s precious things will be passed onto families that really need it.

As our organisation grew, our operational needs grew too. From 2017, we saw a need to employ our very first and only part-time employee to manage the continued growth and ensure we achieve the greatest impact in our community.

In 2018, we expanded our volunteer support to ensure that we can continue our vital service Auckland wide. We’re also incredibly thankful to our voluntary Board of Trustees who so generously give their valuable time, expertise and strategic oversight.

A little recognition for the work we’ve done

Awarded Community of the Year (Achievement) in the New Zealander of the Year Awards (2019)
Awarded a Kiwibank NZ Local Hero of the Year Medal (2017)
A national finalist in the Fly Buys NZ Mumtrepreneur Awards (2015).
Won the Community Spirit Award at Pride of New Zealand Awards (2015).

Donate your high quality pre-loved (and new) baby items

For Babies in Need

Littlemore donations have touched the lives of thousands; something we’re constantly humbled by and extremely proud of.

We accept good quality pre-loved (and new):

Cots, Moses baskets, bassinets and carry cots

Capsules/Car seats

Strollers/Prams

Clothing from prem through to size 1

Bedding

Safety items

Cloth and disposable nappies

Books and toys

Accessories and more

Drop off locations can be found here. If you live outside of Auckland and would like to donate items by post, please find our postal address here. 

Please see the ‘Little Things we Accept’ for a full list of what we are able to re gift. If you could freshly launder clothing and linen before donating, we would greatly appreciate it.

For health and safety reasons there are some items that we cannot re gift. Please refer to ‘A Few Things we Can’t Accept’ to see what these are. 

Donation Drop Off Locations

Storage King Grey Lynn
300 Richmond Road, Grey Lynn
Auckland 1021

Storage King Takapuna
19 Hillside Road, Wairau Valley
Auckland 0627

Drop off Days/Times:
Wed, Thur & Fri 9am – 5pm
Sat 9 – 10am (excl. public holiday weekends)

Become a Volunteer

Every Saturday between 9am – 10am, donors from all over Auckland drop-off their pre-loved (and new) baby items to us (public holiday weekends excluded).

What’s involved

We need general volunteers to help sort, pack, label, store and safety check all donated items (clothing and baby gear). This also includes setting-up, packing-down and ensuring the storage unit is kept tidy.

We take time to train every volunteer. A minimum commitment of 6-12 months is required

Each Saturday shift is from 8.50am – 11am. You’ll need to be available approx. 10 times from February through to December (once a month)

Some lifting, bending and carrying of goods is required

You can help with other volunteer roles and work from home too. This includes providing general admin. support, research, marketing/promotional support, helping with stock-takes, distribution etc.

If you are interested in joining our volunteer team, please complete this form. We will be in touch with you soon.

Find out more about this wonderful charity, Littlemore.