For the first semester of the 2015-2016 school year, Civitas is sponsoring a diaper drive. The goal is to have students bring a pack/box of diapers to the next Civitas event that they attend, starting with our kickoff on September 12th. We will have a field trip to drop them off at Circle of Concern (a local food bank) towards the end of the drive. Click here to see a flyer with all of the details.
Why are we doing this?
In many low-income households, there’s not enough money to buy an adequate supply of diapers.
Babies need an average of 6-10 diapers a day to stay clean, healthy and happy. That’s a total of up to 3,650 diapers a year for one child.
1 in 3 mothers struggle to provide the diapers their children need.
Families try hard to extend the use of the disposable diapers they have on hand by changing diapers less often or by trying to clean and reuse them.
But that’s a big problem: Babies who go an entire day without a diaper change are uncomfortable; they develop rashes and infections; and, often, they cry more, unnerving their parents, who are already feeling guilty about not being able to afford the basics for their kids.
Child-care providers even have a phrase— “Monday morning rash” — to describe how babies from low-income families sometimes arrive after a weekend of infrequent diaper changes.
These problems are not evidence of bad parenting but of bad public policy. Unfortunately, some state family assistance programs do not apply to the purchase of diapers.
We often talk about the problems of the world, but here is a chance for our students to help be a solution!
