Local service organizations to host diaper drive on Oct. 23

Date: 10/18/2010

Oct. 18, 2010

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD -- It's an item that goes overlooked when people think about making donations to help those in need.

But if you've got a young family, it's an item that can make the difference between taking your child to day care or staying home, or between buying adequate food for the family or taking care its youngest members other needs.

That item is disposable diapers.

"We get about five calls a week asking if we have [diapers]" Dena Calvanese, executive director of The Grey House told Reminder Publications. "It's not something we have, not something we get from the food bank."

But it is an item that can put a big dent in a struggling family's budget. "They're so expensive, and if you're choosing between diapers and food, you've got to be certain the kids are eating," Calvanese noted.

On Oct. 23, members of the Junior League of Greater Springfield (JLGS),in conjunction with members of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPSGS), are hoping to ease this burden on parents in need by collecting diapers for the Grey House as part of Huggies Every Little Bottom national diaper drive.

The collection will take place from 8 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of the Super Stop & Shop, located at 1600 Boston Rd., across from Eastfield Mall.

"Any size, any brand [of diapers] ... if you're baby has outgrown a size and you have an open package, we'll take that, too," Elizabeth Gosselin, vice president of the JLGS's community council, said.

Stop & Shop Customer Service Manager Barbara Denette said her store was happy to help out the Junior League with their project.

"It's a great way that we can serve our community," Denette said.

Gosselin said the JLGS learned about the national diaper drive at a recent Junior League convention and immediately embraced the idea of bringing it to their community.

"One in three parents have to miss school or work due to a lack of diapers," Gosselin said, quoting from materials provided by Huggies.

Other facts from a study posted on the Every Little Bottom Web site http://www.huggies.com/en-US/promotions/everylittlebottom, point out that government assistance programs such as food stamps and WIC do not cover the cost of diapers and without the ability to provide diapers to childcare facilities, struggling families are not able to take advantage of free or low-cost care for their children. Some parents, it states, have even resorted to scraping out and reusing soiled diapers to make their supply stretch.

"As the cost of everything goes up, we have so many people in need," Calvanese said. "I would say over the past two years, as the economy has gotten rocky, we've had a lot more requests for diapers."

As Oct. 23 will be the first of what JLGS hopes will become a twice-a year collection, Gosselin said she doesn't have a goal for the event.

"We don't know what to expect," she said. "But our long-term goal is to establish some type of diaper bank ant the Grey House.

"Handing out diapers once or twice a year doesn't really solve any problems," she said, adding the JLGS hopes to establish locations were individuals could donate diapers on a regular basis.