The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank has launched “The Big Ask,” a campaign to help provide essential supplies and services to low-income families.
The organization, which collects donations of diapers and period supplies for families, hopes to raise $100,000 between now and Dec. 31 to be able to successfully carry out its services in the new year.
In addition to helping to fill a growing diaper need in the community, efforts include support for its period supply program, St. Louis Alliance for Period Supplies – a service to address period poverty for many who are struggling to afford basic items. Last year, two-thirds of low-income women in St. Louis could not afford menstrual hygiene products, with 46% of them having to choose between food and period supplies. The Diaper Bank and its partner organizations have distributed more than 800,000 period supplies throughout St. Louis, with approximately 10,800 items handed out each week.
Other programs and services offered by the Diaper Bank include providing first-period kits, which contain menstrual hygiene products for girls experiencing their first period. The Diaper Bank also partners with the St. Louis County Library to provide families with 25 diapers and one period kit per month. To date, the partnership has served some 14,000 families who need emergency products. The Diaper Bank also continues to address the need for pull-ups – potty training pants which cost .10 cents more than a single diaper.
Founded in 2014, the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank has worked to provide diaper and period supplies to low-income families in the region, as well as to raise community awareness about the causes and consequences of diaper need and period poverty. To date, more than 10 million diapers have been distributed – almost 900,000 of them at the height of the pandemic. The needs addressed by the organization are a much-needed service for struggling families since government programs like food stamps and WIC do not allow for purchases of diapers and period supplies, which, along with cigarettes, alcohol and pet food, are classified as luxury items.
For more information or to donate, call (314) 624-0888 or visit the St. Louis Diaper Bank website.
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