BJ’s Wholesale Club, Huggies, and National Diaper Bank Network Provide Helping Hand
Four Area Nonprofits Team Up to Address Diaper Needs
Faced by Poverty-Stricken Philadelphia Region Families
Catholic Social Services, Foundation for Babies and The Greater Philadelphia Diaper Bank
Join with Cradles to Crayons to acquire nearly 400,000 diapers to benefit local children
A consortium of nonprofits and businesses – local and national – are teaming up to provide nearly 400,000 diapers for distribution to babies in Greater Philadelphia area families living in poverty.
“Nearly 1 in 3 families throughout the metropolitan Philadelphia area struggle to afford diapers for their children,” said Michal Smith, executive director of Cradles to Crayons,which is spearheading the collection and distribution of the diapers as part of its June is Gear Up for Baby drive to benefit local children.
Participating in the initiative, along with Cradles to Crayons, the local nonprofit that provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play,are –
- Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, operators of Family Strengthening Centers throughout the five-county metropolitan Philadelphia area, providing support and education to families.
- Foundation for Babies, Montgomery County-based organization committed to creating an environment in which all babies have a chance to a healthy start in life.
- Global Sales/Business Development segment of BJ’s Wholesale Club, membership warehouse retail stores along the East Coast.
- Greater Philadelphia Diaper Bank, Richboro, PA, the region’s leading year-round source for diapers, partnering with nonprofits and agencies working with families and individuals in crisis.
- National Diaper Bank Network, New Haven, CT-based group dedicated to raisingawareness about diaper need at the national level, and Huggies,® the network’s founding sponsor.
“The need for diapers requires nothing less than such a significant and cooperative effort by the nonprofit and for-profit communities,” said Smith. “Each of the partners in this effort,” she continued, “is playing a critical role in this ambitious enterprise – from making product available, transporting it from warehouses throughout the United States to our facility in West Conshohocken, and moving the diapers, some 400,000 of them, to where they are needed – in the hands of the families of thousands of infants in our community living inpoverty-stricken situations, who areserved by the participating nonprofits and the scores of social service agencies they support.”
The first 140,000 diapers will arrive this week at Cradles to Crayons’ warehouse, from where they will be distributed to Catholic Social Services, The Greater Philadelphia Diaper Bank, and social service agencies throughout the region served by Cradles to Crayons.
“Diaper need has been called ‘a silent crisis’ in the United States,” Smith noted. “Most Americans who have not faced this struggle do not know the problem exists.” The federal government makes no provision to provide diapers to those in need. Federal benefits such as SNAP – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) cannot be spent on diapers. Diapers are a basic need for children, as essential to their health and well-being as food and shelter, yet nearly 1 in 3 families in America struggle to afford diapers for their children.
“The hope and dream of all of us involved in this effort is to make a difference in this struggle,” Smith said.
Diaper need is a silent crisis in the United States. Diapers are a basic need for children, as essential to their health and well-being as food and shelter. Yet nearly 1 in 3 families in America struggle to afford diapers for their children.
Families unable to afford diapers are forced to choose between a range of undesirable alternatives that can severely impact the health and well-being of both their child and their household. Many families report cutting back on basics such as food, utilities or child care in order to purchase diapers for their children. Other families report leaving their children in soiled diapers for a longer period of time than they otherwise would have. Some families even resort to cleaning out or drying soiled diapers and reusing them in order to meet their diaper needs.
These alternatives can have severe repercussions for the health, economic and emotional well-being of the child, parent and household. Leaving children in soiled diapers longer than they should can lead to diaper rash, infections, irritability and difficulty in mother-child attachment. These consequences can lead to lower self-esteem and depression among parents who are not able to provide adequate diapers. Some parents are forced to forgo employment or educational opportunities since many daycare programs will not accept children without a supply of disposable diapers.
Most Americans who have not faced this struggle do not know the problem exists. Furthermore, the federal government makes no provision to provide diapers to those in need. Federal benefits such as Food Stamps and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) cannot be spent on diapers.
While the majority of families in the United States are aware of food banks, few are aware of the existence of diaper banks. The National Diaper Bank Network is working to raise awareness about this devastating problem and to help diaper banks reach families in need.
Some Facts about Diaper Need
- 1 in 3 families in America struggle to afford diapers for their children.
- 34% of families surveyed had cut back on basics such as food, utilities or child care in order to purchase diapers for their child.
- 22% of all children under five years of age in the United States live in poverty.
- Poverty is most pronounced in households led by single mothers, where 54% of children live in poverty (as opposed to 10% of children under five in double-parent households).
- At an average cost of $18 per week, families require $936—more than 4% of poverty-threshold income—per child per year for diapers.
- Families from a range of incomes struggle to afford diapers, including both families who fall below the federal guideline of poverty ($22,350 for a family of four) and families with incomes above the federal poverty guideline but who are still considered low-income. Research suggests that families earning twice federal poverty guideline still struggle to meet basic needs.