I hope you all will join me in supporting a new venture/cause I'm undertaking.

I recently found out that diapers and wipes are not covered public assistance, food stamps, WIC, etc.  And that cost of diapers runs nearly $100 per month per child.

Did you know that 39% of kids in Pennsylvania are living in "low income" families? That means there are a LOT of moms out there that are struggling to afford diapers.

I am organizing a "Diaper Drive" for the month of September.  We will be collecting diapers in conjunction with the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank. Just like a food drive, a diaper drive will allow people to donate one diaper from their diaper bag or a whole pack and drop them off at various locations throughout the city.

Right now we have the following "partners" signed up to be a drop off lcoication:

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium
Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library
E2Toys 2 Try
BounceU
National Aviary
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

And the bonus is that each of the above sponsors have agreed to donate prizes!! Once you've donated a diaper, a pack of diapers or even money (through the website, pittsburghdiaperdrive.org)  you can come back and post to the "I donated a diaper" thread to be entered to win great prizes including day passes, shopping sprees and memberships!

Here's the official press release

Pittsburgh, PA  August 13, 2009 – Inspired by a Time Magazine profile of a diaper bank in New Haven, CT (Time Magazine , April 16 “Starting a Diaper Bank”), Dr. Heather Starr Fiedler, a local mom, professor and Web site founder is bringing the concept to the Pittsburgh area.  

Diaper banks and diaper drives are springing up all around the country as more people learn about the startling fact that, while you can buy junk food and soda using food stamps, you cannot buy diapers.  Because they are not considered “consumable” products,  diapers and baby wipes are off-limits to federal food stamps and Women Infant Children (WIC) programs, leaving low-income moms struggling to afford the nearly $100 per month cost to diaper a child.

The statistics are shocking; nearly 39% of Pennsylvania children under age six are living in ”low-income” families (families are considered low-income if the family income is less than twice the federal poverty threshold -National Center for Children in Poverty).  Over 80% of low-income children have parents who work, and most have at least one parent working full-time, year-round. Nonetheless, many of these parents are unable to afford basic necessities for their families, such as food, housing, and stable child care.

While using cloth diapers may be an alternative to the monthly cost of disposable diapers, the vast majority of licensed day care centers do not accept cloth diapers, and many people living in poverty do not have affordable access to washing facilities. Furthermore, most coin-operated laundromats do not allow customers to wash cloth diapers for health and sanitary reasons.

Struggling to afford basic diapers for a child can lead to health concerns as well.  In poor and low-income families, a baby can spend a day or longer in one diaper, leading to potential health risks like rashes and infections and subsequent abuse risks.

Fiedler is an Indiana Township resident, mother of two preschoolers, a journalism professor at Point Park University and the founder and general manager of PitsburghMom.com.  In conjunction with her web site and the Greater Pittsburgh Food bank, she’ll be holding a “Diaper Drive” to collect diapers for low-income families. 

The Pittsburgh Diaper Drive will run through the month of September and Fielder hopes to collect not only new packs of diapers and wipes but also any spare diapers a mom might be carrying in her bag as well as monetary donations to purchase diapers.  Drop off partner locations will be located at the National Aviary, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, BounceU, the Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library and E2 Toys 2 Try.  As an added bonus, all of the partners have offered prizes to those donating. To enter to win prizes, participants can log on to PittsburghMom.com and post that they donated.  Prizes will be drawn at the end of the drive.  Monetary donations can be made via www.pittsburghdiaperdrive.org

Contact: Dr. Heather Starr Fiedler
412-916-3216
hstarr@pointpark.edu
www.pittsburghdiaperdrive.org

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Coupons are a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion, I'll add it to the "list" of stuff we'll collect.

NotanUberMom:

Hey Heather, I have two unopened packages of baby boy Little Swimmers. Can I throw those in as well? They are expensive and I'm sure anyone on a budget would hesitate to buy them.

Absolutely! Those buggers are expensive!