By Christina Billos
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Photo by Christina Billos
When Kate Nolan Bryden learned that many Maryland families are in desperate need of diapers for their babies, she decided she needed to take some action to help low-income families provide for their children.
Not wanting other moms and families to experience this struggle, she and Eliseba Osore, a social worker, contacted members of a local nonprofit organization called ShareBaby and established a program to distribute diapers to those in need.
“This is something simple we can fix,” Nolan Bryden said. “If we can do something quick and have an impact, we ought to do it.”
Baltimore’s new diaper bank, diaperSHARE, plans to provide a consistent and reliable supply of free diapers, wipes and crèmes to families in need on a monthly basis.
Nolan Bryden, who is a now a co-director of diaperSHARE, said the first public drive held outside the Giant grocery store in Hamden on Sept. 26 collected 2,182 diapers that were donated by community residents. The diapers were then donated to partnering shelters, including Avery House of Chrysalis House Inc., Dayspring Programs, Inc., House of Ruth in Baltimore, and Sarah’s House.
According to the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN), one out of every three American families experiences a diaper need.
Parents can spend on average of between, $70 and $80 on diapers each month per baby, according to the NDBN. This requires seven to 12 diapers per a day, which becomes a costly expense some families can’t afford on their tight budgets.
The NDBN says that to make an adequate supply of diapers last longer, parents often reuse wet and soiled disposable diapers, which can cause health risks like rashes and infections.
Since launching its first public drive, diaperSHARE has held four other collection drives. The group plans a drive from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Oct. 22 at the Giant Foods parking lot in the Kentlands in Gaithersburg and from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Mondawmin Mall Target store. Four other drives will be held in November. For those unable to attend any of the scheduled drives, an online Amazon wish list has been created for anyone looking to buy and donate to the organization.
“We are on track to collect over 10,000 diapers in the month of October through our collection events and our Amazon wish list,” said Kristin Finkelstein, co-president and founder of ShareBaby.
Recently, diaperSHARE has been accepting open packs of diapers and repackaging 25 in a set. Local shelters don’t accept opened boxes due to the lack of volunteers required to repackage them.
“I hate to even say this, but sometimes those diapers get thrown out because there’s no place for them to go,” Nolan Bryden said.
Families that have extra, unused diapers can donate to families in need instead of throwing them out. Although this process requires more volunteers, each child is guaranteed to receive at least one of these per month at the maximum two packs per month.
“This past year has blossomed and we have 13 different shelters” that ShareBaby and diaperSHARE are partnered with, Finkelstein said.
Finkelstein describes her basement as overflowing piles of clothes, toys and equipment for children up to the age of 5 to be donated.
Maryland’s diaper banks include Annapolis, Hagerstown, Millersville and the new Baltimore location.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., introduced the Diaper Act in 2011 to modify the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990. The bill would have allowed government funds to provide diapers to low-income families.
While the legislation wasn’t passed, the diaperSHARE organization is one of the many diaper banks created in an effort to help families afford the costly price of diapers, Nolan Bryden said.
“We can’t correct the legislature and the way that they look at these programs, but …we can fix the need right now and that’s the one small thing we can do to help these families,” Nolan Bryden said.