Photo courtesy of Nancy Owen.
Volunteers load up a small portion of the diapers received at last year’s event.
Each month, Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank distributes around 20,000 diapers to families around the Birmingham area. Those 20,000 diapers are able to reach 400 children and help ease the pressure of diaper need.
In order to support the cause and households struggling with diaper need, Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank will host its second annual Stuff the Bus Drive during the week of Sept. 9-18. Executive director Nancy Owen said the goal of the drive is to collect 125,000 diapers, while also raising awareness for diaper need.
“We are encouraging people, in their own groups or businesses, to host a diaper drive,” Owen said. “Then, they can bring [collected diapers] to stuff the bus, and they could donate them during the drive itself.”
Diapers for all ages are accepted, as are packages that have already been opened.
“We really only solicit newborn through 5-6 diapers, but we get pull-ups from children who have been potty-trained,” Owen said. “While we don’t purchase and solicit pull-ups, we certainly will take them, and there is a need for them.”
Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank repackages the diapers received during Stuff the Bus and throughout the year into packs of 25, and families in need get two packs per child once a month.
“This is not just a few people who are at poverty level,” Owen said. “We hear so many stories of heartbreak [from] people coming through the food pantries and calling us.”
Owen said the Stuff the Bus Drive is a great event for people to learn that diaper need is a common issue that affects so many households.
“There was one [woman] who stopped to donate diapers [last year], and she was very emotional because she said that she herself had experienced diaper need when she was a young mom,” Owen said. “When that clicks with people, it makes a huge impact.”
Diaper, monetary and food donations will be accepted throughout the week of the event. The drop-off location is in front of the Target shopping center on U.S. 280. Volunteers can also sign up in four-hour shifts to help with accepting donations and drawing attention to the event.
For more information visit bundlesdiaper
bank.org.
