Yolo Diaper Bank will hold its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service event from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Jan. 15, at Woodland United Methodist Church at 212 Second St.
"One in three families in Yolo County with young children struggle to provide diapers for their children," the diaper bank's press release emphasized. "Yolo Diaper Bank is committed to helping those families by providing diapers to our partner agencies CommuniCare, Empower Yolo and Woodland Personal Care Pantry, who work directly with at-risk diapers and pack diapers for delivery to our partner agencies."
Donations can be made at the organization's four designated drop-off spots in Davis. Drop-offs are available any time at 426 Del Oro Ave. and 1415 Nutmeg Lane. and during business hours at Carbahal & Company located at 1107 Kennedy Place. Suite 5 and First Northern Bank located at 434 Second St.
The Yolo Diaper Bank was launched in 2018 to provide a reliable source of diapers for agencies serving families,
Lorraine Beaman, who manages marketing and fund development for the diaper bank, explained that her daughter came up with the idea of creating the bank while driving home one day and hearing that the Houston Diaper Bank was providing diapers for people displaced by a hurricane.
"She thought, 'Wow, that's something we should have here in Yolo County,'" Beaman recounted. "So she did some research and found out that we didn't have one and started the diaper bank after talking to agencies."
Although the organization does not know for certain how many families they've helped since they let other agencies distribute their diapers, Beaman said she believes they've helped well over 2,000 families in Yolo County.
"Our guess is we probably do 2,000 families a year, but again, that's not verifiable because we deliver to agencies like CommuniCare and we know that they will help one family multiple times," she explained. "Other times, like Empower Yolo, a family just needs help one time."
Beaman argued that diapers are important to provide for struggling families, particularly those with young parents because they often need to provide diapers for daycare centers to take care of their children.
"It's often the difference between parents being able to go to school or to work because daycare centers require diapers," she highlighted. "And sometimes if you don't have the diapers, you can't go to work and can't go to school. So it helps the whole family."
Beaman said the bank distributes diapers to agencies that serve low-income families so that they don't have to be involved in the screening process.
"We've worked really hard to keep up with the needs of our current agencies," she said. "We want to expand, but we need to build that base of donations and diapers."
She noted that what would help the most is increasing the amount of donations it receives, its number of volunteers and community awareness.
"The best thing is donations because we work very hard to find the best prices on diapers," she remarked.
Additionally, the organization accepts diapers from opened packages that parents have lying around in the closet after their babies have outgrown them.
"We will take those opened packages of diapers," she emphasized. "You can't return them to Target or anywhere else, but we take them because we repackage everything."
Furthermore, the organization needs volunteers to help wrap diapers and deliver diapers to its partner organizations around Yolo County.
"We package diapers in units of 12 and 13, label them by size, then fill orders and have them delivered to the agencies," Beaman added. "What we really have a shortage of right now is drivers. It's once a month and they pick up diapers and take them to an agency in Yolo County."
Lastly, Beaman said the organization is looking for a volunteer who can help them with social media to increase community awareness of the work they are doing.
"We are so grateful for anyone who is willing to support us and be part of our team," she stressed. "Our goal is to eliminate diaper need in Yolo County. We want babies to be happy and comfortable, and families to not feel stressed because they can't provide diapers."
For more information, visit yolodiaperbank.org.
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