CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Amid rising costs, a Chesapeake health organization plans to host a free diaper distribution event to ease financial worries for local families.
When monthly bills become too overwhelming, families lean on nonprofits to fill the gaps.
One nonprofit, the Greater Hampton Roads Diaper Bank, is seeing an increase of people needing services. Their mission is to provide free emergency supplies of diapers to families in need. They provide for babies, toddlers, and adults.
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"We get diapers, we get diaper donations, and we raise money to purchase diapers and then we give them out through our partner organizations," said coordinator, Herb Erb.
The Greater Hampton Roads Diaper Bank has been around since 2012 and currently has about 50 community partners from the Peninsula to the Southside.
"[We get requests for new partnerships nearly every month]. We're growing and we're very happy with the number of partners because we are able to reach more parts of the community,” Erb said.
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He noted that their partners send in requests for over 80,000 diapers each month, but they can only meet the needs of about 65,000. Erb emphasized the need for volunteers and new donations.
"Diapers are a basic essential for the health of children and, as I mentioned, dependent adults,” Erb said.
According to the National Diaper Bank Network, one in two families in the U.S. struggle to afford clean diapers, with costs estimated to range from $80 to $100 each month for one child.
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"The fact is diapers are expensive and when you need them, you need them," Erb said.
As tariffs are causing companies to raise prices on many baby products, BabyCenter doesn’t predict a diaper shortage. Though if prices go up on diapers it could be because manufacturers rely on imported plastics and absorbent materials.
If you are worried about prices, BabyCenter recommends having one large box of a baby’s current size and a small pack of the next size.
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Keiara Carter understands the burden of diaper costs all too well. She had her first daughter at 17.
"I worked a job I was making minimum wage, and it was 2009, and minimum wage was very low at that time," Carter recalled. "I had to figure out how I was going to feed my baby, how I was going to clothe my baby, and it was just a very humbling experience."
Now, as an administrative assistant for Women's Services at Chesapeake Regional Hospital, Carter is helping to pay it forward.
She helped organize a diaper drive in December with the hospital and a nonprofit called The Fatherhood Foundation of Virginia, which saw a strong turnout.
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"We had a fantastic turnout. So many people the line wrapped around our Lifestyle Center,” said Shannon Roberts, Director of Women's Services. “I think it shows us that people don't have everything they need to provide the best they can for their children.”
The Chesapeake Regional Health Foundation is sponsoring another free diaper distribution event this Saturday.
"Saturday is for the community. It's for moms, dads, extended family, aunts, uncles. They also play a pretty significant role in a child's life, and they might be the one who's providing the care and the expense of diapers,” Roberts said.
Each family will receive one box of EveryLife Diapers, containing about a month’s worth of diapers in sizes one to six. It's encouraged for families to bring their children to ensure they are receiving the correct size.
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"My goal, and our goal at the hospital, is to be innovative and to give back to the community and just allow people to know that you have a safe place you can go," Carter said.
The diaper distribution will take place on the Chesapeake Regional campus in a tent behind the Lifestyle Center from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., while supplies last.
On Tuesday, partners of the Greater Hampton Roads Diaper Bank will pick up their bundles. Families can reach out directly to those organizations for information on receiving diaper packs.
Click here to see all the organizations involved.
Other options for saving on diapers include signing up for subscription services as some companies offer discounts.
If you create a baby registry online, some companies allow you to use a discount on items that weren’t purchased.
Finally, “Parent” groups on social media are another great option as families may be looking to give unused diapers, or other products, to people in their community for free.
