donations Archives - Midwest Mom and Wife

This week is National Diaper Need Awareness Week.

Never heard of it? I hadn’t either; in fact I didn’t even know that diaper need was an issue for families across the country until I attended MommyCon a couple years ago. Low income families can qualify for many assistance programs like SNAP and WIC that help cover the costs of food and formula but that still leaves the cost of diapers. We all know diapers are expensive!

When I had my daughter 7 years ago I was introduced to cloth diapers and soon realized that not only are they super cute but they saved me a ton of money and I never had to worry about how I was going to make diapers last until next payday.

According to Share the Love, an organization that provides cloth diapers to needy families, 1 in 3 moms have struggled to pay for diapers. The truth is 8% of moms have used or attempted to use a disposable diaper longer by leaving the baby in a wet diaper or attempting to reuse a diaper that is meant for single use which can cause health issues like rashes or yeast infections. There are many great organizations that provide diapers to families in need like Share the Love. The thing I love most about this organization is that it was started because the founder of CottonBabies, Jenn Labit, started the organization based on her personal experience of not being able to afford diapers.

How can you help? Visit Share the Love to find the closest host site to donate cloth diapers you no longer use or to buy new diapers to be donated for a family in need.

Midwest Mom & Wife is an official Share the Love host!

Written by Kara Bush

I am so excited to announce that I am officially a Share the Love host for Central Iowa! What is Share the Love? I have mentioned it a few times since I returned from MommyCon Minneapolis, but I wanted to wait to go into more detail.

Share the Love is a National Cloth Diaper Bank. In 2012, Share the Love was created and began in St. Louis, Missouri. The sole purpose of this program is to distribute and provide cloth diapers to low-income families. A study was done, that one in three American families were forced to choose between food, household items and diapers. Jennifer Labit, owner of Cotton Babies, wanted to help change this.

“It feels like yesterday that my family was in this situation,” Labit said.” Ten years ago, I had a $30 weekly grocery budget and a WIC check. My family had to choose between diapers and food. If it wasn’t for a friend who generously sent my family cloth diapers as a gift, I don’t know what we would have done. Her gift helped my family and changed our lives, and I hope Share the Love will do the same for others.”

Since 2012, there have been host sites created in all 50 states across America. Many states have several host sites. To receive diapers, eligible families must apply for assistance. All of the diapers that are donated to Share the Love sites, are donated from other families who no longer need or use their cloth diapers.

So, what can YOU do?

Donate! You can donate any cloth diapers you no longer use. If they need a little tending to, that is okay. We will make sure they get put back into working condition, before they are distributed to families. You can also donate cloth wipes and/or changing pads!
Be a drop site! Do you own a business or work within a business that would be a great place for people to leave their diapers for donation? We are looking for several places in Central Iowa to leave baskets and information about the program. We would provide the basket & materials and would pick-up as often as needed!
Help spread the word to low-income families! Do you know of a great place or organization that we can spread the word about Share the Love? Share the Love is new to Central Iowa and many low-income families may not know of this option. With your help, we can help ease the minds of these families by getting them cloth diapers!

If you can help in ANY of these areas or have questions about the program please contact me at SharetheLove@cottonbabies.com.