5000+ Items
Donated
We've received over 5000 items donated from the members of the public and businesses to go into Bags of Hope.
What is Bags of Hope?
Bags of Hope is a project set up to provide patients arriving on psychiatric wards with a bag of both essential and self-care items. These bags contain items such as body wash, wipes, socks, underwear, colouring books, phone chargers, and activity books, all of which offer comfort and dignity to patients during a challenging time. The bags are delivered to local psychiatric wards across South Wales and England.
Through Bags of Hope we are able to support vulnerable individuals and ensure that upon arrival to psychiatric wards people are met with dignity and respect. We believe in the importance of providing individuals, who may not otherwise have anything, with essential items, thus creating more equality within the healthcare system. At all stages of the Bags of Hope process people are benefiting.
Our community-driven approach includes bag-packing events where individuals can come together to contribute items and help assemble the bags. We're excited to expand these events to involve the general public, inviting people to support our mission and participate in creating bags.
Have you received a Bag of Hope?
We gather feedback through surveys, social media messages, and in-person conversations during drop-offs to ensure we include items that meet the needs of the patients. Through feedback received, we went on to make 'gender neutral' and 'vegan' Bags of Hope to ensure that our project was inclusive.
If you are a former/current patient or an employee on a psychiatric ward, please complete the following survey to provide us further feedback for this campaign.
Bags of Hope Survey5000+ Items
250+ Bags
Created
In 2024 alone, we have been able to create over 250 male, female and gender neutral Bags of Hope.
16 Wards
Helped
We've been able to deliver bags to patients over 16 wards throughout England and South Wales.
What goes into a Bag of Hope?
Due to the quality of the Bags of Hope, it costs us around £20 to £25 to fill a bag. We currently make two types of bags which we've dubbed The Life Saver, containing only essential items, and The Premium Bundle, which also contains two bonus items. There are three variations on both of these bags with male, female and gender neutral options. As the bags include snacks we also mark them as vegan friendly when appropriate.1
The Life Saver2 £20
- 2 in 1 or shampoo & conditioner
- Body wash & flannel
- Toothbrush & paste
- Roll-on deodorant
- Pants & socks
- Activity book & notebook
- Coloured pens or pencils
- Sanitary products
- Fidget toys
- Moisturiser or hand cream
- Playing cards or game
- Tissues
- Ear buds
- 2 food items
- Hair bobbles
- Face wipes or baby wipes
The Premium Bundle3 £25
- 2 in 1 or shampoo & conditioner
- Body wash & flannel
- Toothbrush & paste
- Roll-on deodorant
- Pants & socks
- Activity book & notebook
- Coloured pens or pencils
- Sanitary products
- Fidget toys
- Moisturiser or hand cream
- Playing cards or game
- Tissues
- Ear buds
- 2 food items
- Hair bobbles
- Face wipes or baby wipes
Additional Items
- Sliders or slippers
- Soft toy
- Headphones
- Water bottle
- Charger or portable charger
- Chapstick or vaseline
The Journey So Far...
This campaign first started in the Christmas of 2023 when Bethan created a social media post that went viral showing the initial concept of Bags of Hope. This resulted in over 250 amazon packages showing up on our doorstep containing thousands of donated items. Honestly, the delivery drivers were sick of us. This lead us to fully implement this idea into a campaign over the next year, starting to organise bag packing events, and setup more frequent bag drop offs.
In 2024 we received over 5000 donations and donated over 250 bags to psychiatric wards. With funding we plan to be able to double the amount of Bags of Hope we donate in a year. One patient commented, 'Receiving a Bag of Hope when I was admitted to hospital gave me hope and reminded me that I wasn't alone.'
Join Us On Our Journey
Messages of Hope relies on donations from both the public and businesses to stock the bags, if you have any feedback, suggestions, or would like to help, please get in touch. We're always looking to organise more bag packing events and would love to hear from you.
How Can I Help?
There are several impactful ways you can support Bags of Hope in its mission to provide essential items for patients arriving on psychiatric wards. You can donate items directly using our Amazon Wishlist, ensuring that much-needed supplies reach those in need. Financial contributions are also greatly appreciated and can be made through our Get Involved page; even a small donation of £5 can make a significant difference.
If you're unable to donate, simply sharing our Instagram stories helps immensely in raising awareness and garnering broader support for our cause. Every act of kindness, big or small, contributes to making a meaningful impact on the lives of those struggling with their mental health.
We appreciate all donations, but here are some suggestions for items that are always in need. Please ensure all items are new and unopened. Any items we receive that cannot be put into a bag, will be donated to a food bank or other appropriate charity. If you're not sure, just drop us a message. Thank you for your support!
A special thanks to the following people and organisations for your donations and support this year:
Thank you for all your support.
Donate now to help bring a struggling patient some dignity
Donate Now1 Essential items include: 2 in 1 or shampoo & conditioner, body wash & flannel, toothbrush & paste, roll-on deodorant, pants & socks, activity book or notebook, pens or pencils, sanitary products, fidget toys, moisturiser or handcream, playing cards or game, tissues, ear buds, 2 food items, hair bobbles, face wipes or baby wipes. Possible bonus items include: sliders or slippers, soft toy, headphones, water bottle, charger or portable charger, chapstick or vaseline. We endeavour to put all of the essential items and 2 bonus items into one Bag of Hope but due to our reliance on donations, some bags may contain slightly fewer items and our attempts to meet the checklist are on a best effort basis. Additionally, only bags labelled "female" and "gender neutral" contain sanitary products. The price of our Bags of Hope is based upon our ability to bulk buy producs with any monetary donations we receive and does not reflect the price of a Bag of Hope that is filled with items from our Amazon Wishlist. The ability to mark bags as vegan friendly is done on a best effort basis, and cannot be guaranteed to be correct. It is the responsibility of those using the product to confirm the contents.
2 This list is a example of what we intend to put into the Life Saver bag, not a checklist we have to adhere to when making the bag. Based on current supply items may be missing or substituted, however we will make a best effort basis to provide consistent quality between the bags.
3 This list is a example of what we intend to put into the Premium Bundle bag, not a checklist we have to adhere to when making the bag. Based on current supply items may be missing or substituted, however we will make a best effort basis to provide consistent quality between the bags.