Generous community members, corporate partners and volunteers came together last year to help our region’s babies as we launched our inaugural United Way Diaper Drive.

We invite you all to join us again as we kick off our 2018 drive, set for May 1-14.

The need for diapers is great. We know that as many as 1 in 3 families in our region struggle to afford enough diapers for their young children, and that can be a significant cause of stress and anxiety for parents, especially new mothers. The average infant requires 50 diapers per week, creating an expense of $1,000 per year.

So, after exceeding our goal of collecting 50,000 disposable diapers in last year’s event, we’re aiming for an even higher target – 75,000.

“There was an overwhelming response from nonprofit partners in need of diapers, and that reinforced for us that diaper need is real and that it is more critical than ever that we engage our entire community and work to address it,” said Alyssa Stewart, Vice President of Strategy and Engagement for United Way.

Diapers collected will be distributed to nonprofit partners, child care centers and other organizations that provide resources for families. Click HERE for an application to become a recipient.

4 Ways You Can Participate

Give dollars for diapers

Diapers can cost an average of 25 cents apiece. Whether you have $1, $100 or $1,000 to give, you can make an impact for a local family. We will use 100% of your gift for the purchase of diapers, which will be distributed throughout the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region. Click here to donate online.

Donate actual diapers

Purchase diapers next time you’re out, and drop them off at any one of our public collection sites. If you’ve got an opened package at home you won’t be using, we’ll take those too.

• Any OnStaff Group location
• Any Kellogg Community Credit Union branch
• United Way offices in Kalamazoo (709 S. Westnedge Ave.) or Battle Creek (34 W. Jackson St.)
• Little Chick Shoe Shop at 449 W Kilgore Rd. in Portage
• Little Sprout Boutique at 3009 Oakland Dr. in Kalamazoo

Don’t know exactly what to buy? Check out our Amazon Wish List. You can choose a package of diapers that fits your budget. To save you a trip, Wish List items are set up to ship directly to our United Way offices.

Get your workplace involved

However your company would like to participate, we can help. Fill out this survey to get started.

Volunteer

Once we have our 75,000 diapers collected, we’ll need many hands to count, sort, package and prepare them for distribution. We have several volunteer shifts planned. Click here to sign up.

Have questions? Email getinvolved@uwbckr.org.

Please join us to support infant and family health across our region.

Thank you to our sponsors: Pfizer, Molina Healthcare, Kellogg Community Credit Union, Townsquare Media, OnStaff Group, Two Men and a Truck.