Nonprofit asking community for diaper donations

Jun. 17—When it comes to babies, diapers are nonnegotiable. Every parent needs them, but post-COVID inflation has made it nearly impossible for some families to afford them.

Diapers are not covered by government safety net programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Women, Infants and Children program and Medicaid, leaving nearly half of families struggling to afford them.

That's why the Kansas City diaper bank, Happy Bottoms, partners with local social service agencies to distribute the necessity to families in need.

"Families with young children, you have so many extra things that you're buying, you know, car seats and your kids growing at a rapid rate," said Ashley Allison, marketing and communications manager for Happy Bottoms. "You're constantly buying new clothes and formula is expensive. So it's just if they can get that one piece of the puzzle, a little bit of relief, it really helps."

According to the 2023 NDBN Diaper Check, families who report diaper need miss an average of 5.1 workdays per month because they didn't have the required number of diapers for day care.

"People don't realize that in order to send your kid to day care, even if it's subsidized day care, you have to provide an allotment of diapers," Allison said. "So if you don't have diapers, then you can't send your child to day care and then you're missing work and then you're just falling further and further behind."

Happy Bottoms continues to provide for families affected by these struggles, but between the 32% increase in diaper prices over the last four years and the 124% increase in diaper distributions from last year, the nonprofit finds itself seeking the help of the community.

While Happy Bottoms is not lacking in supplies right now, the organization hopes to get ahead of the problem so it can continue to distribute diapers without pause.

The nonprofit is asking community members to assist with monetary donations, which can be made on its website at https://happybottoms.org/.

"We have relationships through our network with the National Diaper Bank Network, as well as other vendor partnerships that allow us to purchase diapers at a deeply discounted rate," Allison said. "So if you give us $20, we can essentially buy nearly $40 worth of diapers with that money compared to what you would do at Amazon, Target or Walmart."

St. Joseph residents interested in donating to or enrolling in the Happy Bottoms program can visit the Catholic Charities at 1123 S. 10th Street or the Diaper Depot at 1203 N. Sixth Street.