Delaware pampers thousands of babies

A cluster of organizations in the state will now be able to supply more than enough diapers to parents who often had to choose between buying food or diapers for their children. On Tuesday, more than 40-thousand diapers were donated to a variety of health and human services agencies to restock their shelves with diapers.

“A baby uses ten diapers a day which is about 300 per month, so raising more than 40-thousand diapers could potentially help about 133 families with a fairly unlimited supply of diapers for their babies for a month,” said Michelle A. Taylor, President & Chief Executive Office of United Way of Delaware.

Across the nation, one out of three families struggle to buy diapers which can cost up to $150 each month per child for families. It’s a reality that’s all too familiar to Delaware 2-1-1, a help hotline for the state that has taken an increase of calls this year from parents in need of diapers. The phone calls resulted in a statewide Diaper Drive in October led by the United Way of Delaware and Delaware 2-1-1.

“We see this as an opportunity to help parents in our community meet a very basic need so they can care for their children. We welcome the opportunity to serve as a bridge builder to ensure our children grow up in a healthy environment,” said Taylor.

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Many joined the statewide effort to supply parents with diapers for their babies such as the University of Delaware, Normanco, AFL-CIO Community Services, Easter Seals, Nemours, YMCA as well as community members and staff members from United Way of Delaware and Delaware 2-1-1. Proctor and Gamble donated a full truck load in addition to diapers collected at those sites.

According to national facts, food stamps can not be used for diapers, forcing some parents to reuse diapers, a practice that could jeopardize a baby’s health.

Meanwhile, agencies on the receiving end to help families with their diaper needs are in all three counties. They included Adopt-A-Family of New Castle County (as well as locations in Kent/Sussex), Love, Inc., Pregnancy Help Center of Kent County, Sussex Pregnancy Care Center, Mom’s House and Delaware Adolescent Program, Inc.

“This could not happen without the generous support of the community overall and we’re grateful for every pack of pampers that any individual actually contributed,” said Taylor.

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