116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Rapids not-for-profits collect more than 140,800 diapers for low-income families
Two area not-for-profits collected more than 140,800 diapers to stock the Eastern Iowa Diaper Bank throughout October - surpassing its goal by more than 15,000 diapers.
The Eastern Iowa Health Center and the Young Parents Network started the diaper bank in 2016 to help working parents and their children obtain clean diapers, which in turn leads to healthier families.
There are about 2,000 children aged 5 and under living in poverty in Linn County, the two organizations said. Meanwhile, a month's supply of diapers can cost between $75 and $125 - which can come down to the parent deciding to pay for diapers or the heating bill.
'We are thrilled with the success of this year's Operation Diaper Drive,” said Joe Lock, president and chief executive officer of the Eastern Iowa Health Center, in a statement. 'Diapers collected will ensure that families struggling to make ends meet will not have to choose between paying for essential needs and diapers.”
Access to clean diapers improves the physical, mental and economic well-being of babies and families. But government assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children - do not cover the cost of diapers.
In addition, most day cares require parents to supply a day's worth of diapers to permit them to drop a child off for the day. That means parents without diapers have to leave their child in an unsafe environment or miss a day of work, which only furthers the problem and hardships.
Parents can collect points to purchase diapers by taking part in healthy behaviors such as prenatal doctors' visits, well-child exams and dental visits. Some items, including earning a GED or coming in for a 20-week glucose test for diabetes, can earn more points than other actions.
New and unused but opened packages of diapers can be donated year-round at 420 Sixth St. SE in Cedar Rapids.
l Comments: (319) 398-8331; chelsea.keenan@thegazette.com
Disposable diapers for sale. (image via Wikimedia Commons)
Jan Moffitt, the program manager at YPN - formerly Young Parents Network - in Cedar Rapids, who also oversees the Eastern Iowa Diaper Bank, sorts through bins of repackaged diapers in the basement at YPN headquarters, 420 Sixth St. SE, on Monday, Oct. 30, 2017. Diapers are repackaged into Ziploc bags with 10 diapers in each bag. The diapers are then given away to those in need who qualify in the We Care Store at YPN. (Rob Clark/The Gazette)
Brian Stutzman, executive director at YPN - formerly the Young Parents Network - in Cedar Rapids, discusses the success of a recent diaper drive coordinated by YPN and the Eastern Iowa Health Center to benefit the Eastern Iowa Diaper Bank. The not-for-profit groups collected more than 140,800 diapers through the drive. These diapers are in storage at YPN headquarters at 420 Sixth St. SE. (Rob Clark/The Gazette)
Diapers are repackaged and ready to be picked up at the We Care Shop at YPN headquarters, 420 Sixth St. SE in Cedar Rapids. Officials from YPN - formerly the Young Parents Network - said those in need of diapers who qualify can receive up to 50 at a time twice per month for a total of 100 diapers per month. A recent diaper drive netted more than 140,800 diapers for YPN and the Eastern Iowa Health Center. (Rob Clark/The Gazette)
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