National Diaper Bank Network, Charities To Donate 20 Million Diapers To Families In Need

The DC Diaper Bank estimates that a child goes through six diapers per day, which can cost up to $120 per month per child.

For Americans living in poverty, the price is steep -- but thanks to Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc., (K.I.D.S.) and the National Diaper Bank Network, that weight might be lifted.

Together, the organizations pledged to donate 20 million Huggies diapers to families in need -- 5 million every three months to different organization. They began with needy teen mothers in the D.C. area on Feb. 21, according to a press release.

"Diapers are a basic necessity for babies and toddlers," Dr. Janice Weinman, President of K.I.D.S., said in the release, "but the ability to ensure a sufficient supply is out of reach for many in this country, thus affecting their health and well-being. We are so grateful to be partnering with the National Diaper Bank Network to help combat this terrible situation. There is nothing more relevant to the mission of K.I.D.S. than to provide the basic essentials to those in need, to ensure a physically and emotionally healthy development."

Currently, 22 percent of American children are living in poverty, and 34 percent of families admit cutting back on other basics like food and utilities to afford their child's diapers, according to the Diaper Bank Network.

Huggies conducted a survey in 2010 which stated 95 percent of American mothers agree that clean diapers are a basic need for children, and such, 34 percent were forced to cutback on basic essentials like food, childcare or utilities to ensure their child had diapers.

Huggies has agreed to donate the diapers, following their Every Little Bottom campaign, which launched in 2010 and has so far collected 60 million diapers in donations to reallocate to mothers in need.

To donate diapers, click here, or find a diaper donation center in your area.

Comments

[Kenz300]

11:18 PM on 02/24/2012

I support helping people in need and want to see all children grow up strong and healthy.

Families should not be having children if they can not afford to provide for them. Children need more than love when they are growing up. There are a billion people living on less than $2 a day in the world and the world added another billion people in the last 12 years. Where will all the food, water, oil, energy and jobs come from to support this massive population. WE were unable to solve the worlds problems of poverty, hunger and despair when the world had 5 billion people and adequate resources. We will not solve the worlds problems in a world of 9 billion people and limited resources. Endless population growth is not sustainable. It only leads to more suffering.

[Staci A Wilson Wright]

09:14 AM on 02/24/2012

This is just a thought but, if you can't afford diapers, why have a baby? And if you can't afford diapers for the baby you already have, why have more babies?

[Susan E Sneathen]

11:24 AM on 02/24/2012

Go to cloth diapers. They are very cost efficient, better for baby, and a lot of people are making this choice. But I have to agree with you. More on the second point than the first. :-)

[Corie Lemmon]

06:26 AM on 02/24/2012

Yes, diapers are a basic need, so why do the prices keep going up. A lot of people can't afford them, so instead of giving so many away, why not help all parents out and just lower the prices..This doesn't help me and my frustration of paying nearly $10 every week for diapers. Why does it seem the rich and the poor get the help, but the middle class can go screw themselves?

[Kisha Weil Hartman]

08:20 AM on 02/24/2012

I guess because they're a necessity. It's the same reason tampons are so expensive. I mean, really, how much do you think it costs to shove a piece of cotton into a cardboard tube and package it? They gouge you because they can, because they know you NEED their product and therefore will pay anything for it. It's despicable.

[Corie Lemmon]

06:42 AM on 02/26/2012

maybe that is why they don't have elective hysterectomy...Because why take out body parts when companies need us to have them so we can by their products...Take mine out, i don't want them. I don't want any more babies. The ultimate birth control...

[Marla Hegman]

10:18 PM on 02/23/2012

I am all for charity....but as an environmentalist, I gotta say....I am envisioning 20million diapers in a landfill in about 6 months.
What happened to cloth diapers?
That is, if the mothers have access to hot, running water and soap. We all need to do our part for the future, poor or rich- all little bottoms need to poop, let's make sure we can all keep pooping for generations to come :D

[Paradise56]

06:00 AM on 02/24/2012

I totally agree. Hate to sound like an old lady here but "in my day" disposable diapers were reserved for outings if we used them at all. I'm proud to say that my niece is championing the return of cloth diapers in Canada. https://www.facebook.com/diaperdeals

[shemonster]

09:30 AM on 02/24/2012

I get it and agree...but I've heard that they make those diapers different now and that they break down???? Its been 17 year since I've had to change diapers....

[wendy82551]

02:34 PM on 02/23/2012

At a recent Democratic event here in Massachusetts, I met a retired guy who had made it his "hobby," his life's project, to get diapers to people who needed them. He spends his weeks collecting coupons, shopping for bargains, cajoling store owners to give him freebies, etc. I think he spends a good chunk of his retirement money on diapers for people in need. I hope he reads Huff Po and sees this article, because he's obviously a real hero.

[putdownthekoolaid]

03:19 PM on 02/23/2012

He's no hero, he's an enabler. The REAL question is why do you have kids...and CONTINUE to have kids you CAN'T AFFORD? It will be the downfall of the US as much as it has been for EVERY third world country.

[wendy82551]

03:50 PM on 02/23/2012

Gosh, you're a swell human being. Also, you don't understand much about global economics if you think that "having kids you can't afford" is the downfall of third world countries. People have babies in third world countries BECAUSE they're poor, because they need the assistance of the children, and because the infant mortality rate is so high. Improved economics and maternal empowerment result in LOWER birth rates. You've got it exactly backward. I suppose it's easier to just sit back and pass judgment on people than it is to actually do something to try to make a difference. Have fun with that.

[Christine Mcinerney]

06:44 AM on 02/24/2012

Things happen ! You dont know what its like to have to go on welfare .I was 11 when my mother was hit by a car and could no longer support us.We went to private school and all paid by my mother ,I guess you suppose to throw us into adoption?Kill us .Whats your solution to world peace and poverty.Not everyone one welfare is a swindler.She lost it all to some jerk who crashed there box truck into our car.Thank God i wasn't your kid!YA moron then off. Maybe your one of those people who hit and run someones car and leaves.Maybe you still live home with mom and dad "the enablers" as you preach.