Saturday Spotlight: Dettol Baby Blanket Donation charity campaign

Just the other day I was trying to sort out the wardrobes in the bedroom and came across a few blankets that I used for the girls when they were babies. And I couldn’t decide whether to keep them or donate to charity.

Now I know what to do.

The same week I heard about the Dettol Baby Blanket Donation charity campaign.

So what is the Dettol Baby Blanket Donation?

The aim is to promote the dangers of bacteria on blankets and highlight shortages of baby blankets available to infants born to disadvantaged families.

The campaign has been launched by Rachel Stevens, celebrity mum of two and ambassador of Dettol Anti-bacterial Laundry Cleanser, who donated the first blanket.

High Res Dettol Blanket — Rachel commented: “The Dettol Baby Blanket Donation really resonated with me as a mum. I remember bringing my girls home for the first time in theirs and what a special time that was. Many babies across the world will never get the chance to experience the comfort of a warm, clean blanket. That’s the reason why I’m supporting the campaign, asking mums to donate blankets to those in need so that those babies don’t miss out.”

Children born into poverty can lack hygienically clean blankets and these poor hygiene conditions can contribute to many illnesses.

Dettol is hoping to donate funds to support children’s health by donating to Sparks, and to raise awareness of research commissioned by them that baby blankets carry a variety of bacteria even after a 40 degrees wash. A third of the washed blankets in their research harboured bacteria linked to faeces.

So how can you get involved?

Dettol and Rachel are encouraging mums across the UK to “keep the memories, not the bacteria” by donating a blanket via Freepost and sharing their special recollections and photographs of their babies’ blanket on social media. Once collected, the baby blankets will be hygienically washed with Dettol Anti bacterial Laundry Cleanser before being re-distributed by Dettol to families in need. Dettol Anti-bacterial Laundry Cleanser has also pledged to donate £1 for every blanket collected to children’s medical research charity, Sparks, to raise much needed funds for UK families with children who are affected by serious illness or disability.

So f you have any baby blankets lying around in your house then why not get involved in this worthy campaign?

Blanket donations will be collected until the end of December. Memories can be shared with
@DettolBlanket #sharethememories or on Dettol’s Mission for Health Facebook page. For full details on how to donate please visit www.dettol.co.uk/donate

Disclaimer: I was sent a bottle of Dettol Anti-bacterial Laundry Cleanser in return for blogging about the campaign.