Michelle Old, along with the Executive Board, and everyone at the Diaper Bank of North Carolina want to thank Calvary and all those who donated funds and diapers during the April Diaper Drive at Calvary UMC!

All the diapers were picked up today and will be stored at Watts Street Baptist until they’re distributed.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this diaper drive a great success!

The Diaper Bank of North Carolina

“With 26 percent of our children living below the poverty line, North Carolina has the sad distinction of having one of the highest child poverty rates in the country. A rarely mentioned consequence of this poverty is babies who go without adequate diapers.

Existing safety-net programs such as WIC and food stamps do not cover diapers. With the cost of diapers averaging $100 per month per child, this leaves families in poverty struggling to afford the diapers their children need to stay healthy and comfortable.”

The impact is significant
- In low-income households, babies and toddlers often spend the entire day or longer in the same diaper. Inadequate diaper changing increases the risk of numerous health problems including severe diaper rash and skin infections, and may be linked to an increased rate of hepatitis.
- Discomfort caused by inadequate diaper changing increases distress and crying. Studies show that a baby crying for a prolonged period may be at greater risk of physical abuse by caregivers.
- Most childcare facilities require that parents leave a full day’s supply of disposable diapers. Families that cannot afford to do so are unable to take advantage of childcare, including free or subsidized programs. This creates additional problems of work and school absenteeism.

In January of this year, thanks to start-up funding from Kidcycle and Watts Street Baptist Church, The Diaper Bank was created to ensure that children living in poverty receive the diapers they need.

The Diaper Bank partners with established family-support organizations such as Welcome Baby and Healthy Families Durham to distribute diapers to low-income families. In addition, we provide emergency diaper kits to meet immediate family needs, and offer guidance and administrative support for diaper drives.”

Sincerely,
Michelle Old
Executive Director, Diaper Bank of North Carolina

Will you join Calvary in April as we partner with the Diaper Bank of North Carolina to help provide diapers, baby wipes and diaper cream to families in need?

(Update: The Diaper Bank of North Carolina is only accepting diapers at this time. No baby wipes or diaper cream. If you’ve already purchased these items and would like to donate them, you may drop them off at Calvary and we’ll keep them on hand until we know of someone who has a need for them, or you could donate them to another organization like Durham Urban Ministries).

Supplies Diapers can be dropped off in the Sanctuary or in the church office throughout April.

On Sunday April 28th, we’ll pray over and bless all the donated items diapers and then turn them over to the North Carolina Diaper Bank for distribution.