Catholic Charities hosts diaper drive throughout May

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Wilmington wants to protect the bottom line - babies’ bottoms. It is hosting a diocese-wide diaper drive to benefit Catholic Charities Bayard House Diaper Bank. The diaper drive will continue throughout May 2015. Donors can drop off diapers, hygiene items, and grocery store gift cards at all Catholic Charities locations during regular business hours.

As the only affiliate of the National Diaper Bank Network in Delaware, Catholic Charities supplies diapers to families in need for their children under the age of 3. Each family can get six distributions of diapers per year.

“May is a time to show support for mothers, and you can demonstrate your support for mothers in our diocese struggling to meet one of their child’s most basic needs - diapers. One in three American moms struggles to provide their babies with diapers. This is called diaper need, and there’s very little help or public resources for it,” said Richelle A. Vible, executive director. “By making a diaper donation, you are helping moms in the community provide for their babies’ health and happiness. Diapers may seem like a small thing, but diaper need can severely impact a household’s ability to remain self-sufficient.”

The majority of licensed day care centers require a full day’s supply of disposable, not cloth, diapers. If low-income parents cannot provide a steady supply of disposable diapers, they cannot take advantage of free or subsidized childcare. Without childcare, parents are less able to attend work or school on a consistent basis.

Many parents struggle to pay for rent and food and cannot afford the high cost of an adequate supply of diapers for their children. A healthy change of diapers costs $100 or more each month for all ages. Food assistance programs like SNAP or WIC focus solely on food and nutrition, and don’t cover diapers. Cloth diapers are also not an option for low-income families. Most do not have affordable access to washing facilities, and coin-operated laundromats do not allow customers to wash cloth diapers for health and sanitary reasons. Babies in dirty diapers suffer. It can lead to serious health problems for them and disease outbreaks for entire communities.

Catholic Charities welcomes donations of diapers of all sizes at all locations. Diaper wipes and other baby hygiene items are welcome too.

Those in need of diapers, or who know of a family that can benefit from the Bayard House Diaper Bank, can call Bayard House at 302-654-1184 to learn more about the program. Families must meet income guidelines and have children of the appropriate age.

Catholic Charities also accepts cash donations, or gift cards for area stores, for diaper purchases. Go to www.cdow.org/charities.html to make a donation using a credit card.

Catholic Charities can accept diaper donations  from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday at the Catholic Charities Sussex County Office at 406 S. Bedford St., Suite 9, Georgetown, 302-856-9578; or at Casa San Francisco, 127 Broad St., Milton, 302-684-8694.