1 in 3 American families struggle to afford diapers for their children and must make sacrifice’s in other areas of their lives in order to overcome Diaper Need. Many families are forced to skimp on utility and grocery bills, forgo dental and medical needs, or must resort to make shifting diapers out of household products or leaving their child in a diaper for an extended period of time. None of these options allow for the best possible health and well-being of a diaper wearing child or their family. There are currently NO government assistance programs in place to help these families. Diapers cannot be purchased with Food Stamps or WIC and diapers are classified, by the government, in a category along with dog food and cigarettes therefore deemed an ‘unnecessary’ item. Without a steady supply of diapers from their parents a child is not allowed to maintain enrollment in a childcare facility which means that without enough diapers parents must forgo working and/or pursuing higher education. Diaper Need is an issue that has severe social, economic and health consequences for a child and their family and *studies have shown that Diaper Need is even more distressing to moms than not having enough food for their family and that moms report more difficulty with stress management, depression and coping with trauma when experiencing Diaper Need all of which can negatively affect a child’s health and development.
The Happy Bottoms Diaper Bank has been developed for the Chadron Area to combat this need and assist the most vulnerable families in our community. Founder, Brooke Smith says “Without a program like this, these families have nowhere to turn and we need to change that. I have started Diaper Programs in the past with great success and hope to do so again for this community that I now call home. We are working in conjunction with the amazing team at Northwest Community Action Partnership to make this program accessible to those most in need in the Chadron community.” Northwest Community Action Partnership is acting as the Fiscal Sponsor and umbrella organization for the Diaper Bank Program.
The inaugural Diaper Drive, to benefit Happy Bottoms Diaper Bank, will take place June 12th through June 16th at Culligan Pool and Spa Center. “We are so grateful for the quick action of the team at Culligan to jump right in and support this cause by hosting our first Diaper Drive!” says Brooke Smith. Culligan will be offering the following discounts to those who make a donation of diapers during this drive.
- $200 off any Hot Tub purchase
- $100 off any Softener purchase
- 20% off all Bottled Water, Water Softener Salt, or Hot Tub Chemicals.
Please drop off boxes/packages of diapers to Culligan Pool and Spa Center located at 500 E. Third Street in Chadron during their normal business hours of 8 am to 5 pm Monday June 12th through Friday June 16th. Open packages with unused diapers are accepted as well. Often times a child outgrows a size before using an entire package and we wouldn’t want those perfectly usable diapers to go to waste so we will be happy to accept them!
Like us on Facebook, Happy Bottoms Diaper Bank, for updates and to learn how you can get involved! If you are someone who is hoping to receive diapers from our program in the future please check our Facebook page for updates on when distribution will begin. We plan to host one distribution date per month for those qualified to receive diapers through our program and are hopeful that we will be able to begin distributing in August.