South Palm Beach Today

Diapers are essential for families with babies yet they are not covered by government assistance South Palm Beach County – January 2023 – The Diaper Bank, Covering South Florida announced its “Founders Club” with the goal to double the number of children and partner agencies that they serve. The Diaper Bank has been successfully helping families in need of diapers for the last 11 years, but they are in need of more help. Becoming a member of the Founders Club is the first step towards the solution to end the struggle for some families to afford diapers. The fact is that 1 in 3 parents struggle to afford enough diapers for their babies each month. A monthly supply of diapers can cost an average of $70- $80 per month, per baby, which is not covered by government assistance programs. As the cost of living continues to increase in the South Florida area, so has the need for diapers. The Diaper Bank, Covering South Florida would like to make sure that our tiniest Floridians can stay dry, clean, and healthy.

Dre Garcia, President of The Diaper Bank, Covering South Florida spoke with Boca Raton Mayor, Scott Singer on Minute with the Mayor where she said, “The need for diapers is dire. 1 in 3 families cannot afford diapers at the moment and cannot drop their children off at daycare without an adequate supply of diapers. We are trying to raise enough funds to get enough trailers of diapers in here to satisfy the need for the coming year. We look to the community to support the nonprofit agencies that we work with that are all in our backyard and there is a lot of need.” Mayor Scott Singer said in his plea to the community “We need to restock for the upcoming year. This is a critical need that Boca Raton has been serving for so long.”

The state of Florida exceeds the national average for the number of families that earn less than the Federal Poverty Level. Within our very own community, there is a family every night who is faced with the hard decision to purchase groceries for their family rather than diapers for their baby. Childcare facilities require families to provide diapers for their child. If a parent is unable to provide diapers to the childcare facility, the child will not be able to attend that day, therefore leaving the parent unable to go to work. Missed days of work lead to a shortage of income for that family, which in turn plays a part with paying bills and weekly essential items.

Studies show on average, a parent of a daycare aged child will miss 4 days of work a month because they are not able to afford the cost of diapers that are needed for childcare. Because of this, these families are at the greatest risk of not having the essential tools to build a strong foundation and healthy lifestyle due to the lack of government programs for diapers. How is a parent able to reach their full potential professionally if the parent is unable to consistently attend their workplace? That is why The Diaper Bank, Covering South Florida is so important to our community! It is critical to promote awareness of diaper need and fill in the gap for families that government programs do not. This is only possible with the support of individuals and corporations within our Palm Beach and Broward County communities.

To Donate:Diaperbankcoveringsofl.orgAbout The Diaper Bank, Covering South Florida: Founded in 2011 by the Junior League of Boca Raton, The Diaper Bank, Covering South Florida became its own 501(c)3 in January 2022. The Diaper Bank’s mission is to give children the opportunity to shine. We do this by partnering with local nonprofits who serve families that fall below the federal poverty levels and educating the community about the importance of ending diaper need since diapers are not supported by state or federal child safety net programs such as WIC or food stamps. We distributed 544,073 diapers in 2022, which has helped over 2,437 children with the assistance of our nonprofit partners. Community partners include Caridad Center, Farmworker Coordinating Council, Florence Fuller Child Development Centers, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies of Broward County, Mary Ann’s Foster Closet, Women in Distress of Broward County.

Original source can be found here