We made this video to sum up what we’ve learned during our engagement with the Huggies Every Little Bottom program. It doesn’t have any specific mention of Huggies in it (other than some boxes) so we hope that if you are interested in spreading the word about diaper need, you might use this video yourself. Or maybe you want to make your own.
This video features both Whitney and Heather, the Rookie Moms and our previously featured awesome mom, Lisa Truong, founder of a diaper bank in Oakland called Help A Mother Out.
We are also grateful to Jenny, Jessica, Kim, Brittany, and Caroline for helping raise awareness and diaper funds for babies in need.
Would you believe that counting diaper and cash donations we only made it to 2399 diapers? That’s 101 diapers short of our goal (or $20.20). Ugh.
hmmmm, are huggies bio-degradable? Why not do a cloth diaper drive? If they have running water and soap, they can hand wash and re-use and not worry every month. Re-use them for younger siblings or pass them onto another family. I think the intentions are in the right place, but seeing massive use of plastic disposable diapers that live in our landfills forever makes me sad.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rookie Moms and Moms Who Blog, Angie Gabriel. Angie Gabriel said: RT @rookiemoms: Babies need diapers. Here's our take. http://ow.ly/3qXty #elb #12DaysDiapers #hamo (cc: @helpamotherout) [...]
Great cause. How about promoting cloth diapers?
Cloth diapers are great for families that have secure living situations and the time/resources to handle the washing and drying. (I cloth diapered my daughter and loved it, but I’m a solidly middle-class lady with a tremendous support system.)
But for many families who don’t even know where they’ll be sleeping each night, they just aren’t that practical. Can you imagine lugging dirty cloth dipes to a shelter and trying to wash them in a communal sink? Never mind figuring out how to get them dry in time to leave the shelter the next morning. And for families who do have more or less permanent homes, they may have to deal with daycares that won’t accept cloth diapers, or other obstacles.
Let’s not let the cloth vs. disposable debate cloud the issue here, which is that diaper need is very real, and has a very serious effect on babies’ and families’ well-being.
I think promoting cloth diapers as well is a great idea, BUT chances are that if they are in need of diapers then most likely they are in need of other things, like soap to wash them.
A study was done a few years back to see which was worse on the environment (cloth diapers vs disposable) and it turned out that a lot of water is wasted to wash cloth diapers.
So…do we waste water or add to the landfill? Tough one.
@Kristina, Cotton Babies has donated product to Help a Mother Out and we are grateful for their support of the cause. They recently launched a cloth diapering program for needy babies. Check it out: http://clothdiapers.blogspot.com/2010/11/real-mom-talk-really-making-difference.html
@Stacey, I hope Whitney and Heather’s efforts have inspired you and others to host a diaper drive – either with cloth or disposable. I totally see your point on why the idea of more landfill makes you sad. For those who know me both personally and professionally know that I count myself as both extremely concerned for the environment as well as for the lasting effects of childhood poverty. For me, this cause as not being about one diapering choice or another. HAMO is “pro-diaper.” We believe there is room enough in this cause for all kinds of diapering. HAMO accepts and distributed diapers made from traditional and eco-friendly brand disposable diapers, as well as new cloth diaper kit donations. Where it has made sense for a small percentage of our families, we have distributed cloth diapering supplies and arranged for diapering training. The overwhelming majority families who are currently served by HAMO are in crisis. Many do not have access to affordable transportation (e.g., they do not own a car), laundry facilities, even laundry soap or toilet paper. Many do their family’s laundry once a month because that is all they can afford. Some are homeless, sleeping in cars, fleeing domestic violence. For them, a daily struggle comes down to eating dinner or buying diapers for their baby. I hope that you’ll check out our site to see some of the real life stories of our families. HAMO is about advocating for the basic life needs of children. It is about giving children what they need, including diapers.
Links that have been helpful to our readers:
http://www.helpamotherout.org/2010/06/23/diaperdivide/
http://www.helpamotherout.org/2009/07/01/diapers-101/
A recent interview about the impact of diapers donated by folks like Heather and Whitney:
http://www.helpamotherout.org/2010/12/13/diapers-are-gold-we-say-that-everyday-here-hamo/
I, for one, have been honored and inspired by the generosity of the RookieMoms for being early stage supporters of the HAMO cause. They supported it *well before* being invited to be blog ambassadors by Huggies and my hunch is that they will continue to value and support this cause long after this program ends. Thank you Heather and Whitney for turning rhetoric into action. Not only have you given back to your community, you’ve inspired others to do the same.
I love this post on the different ways we can do a diaper drive. I’m afraid that a box outside my home might result in as many diapers taken as given as I know there is need right here in my neighborhood, but maybe that is just okay. Hmmm, going to talk to the neighborhood association. Maybe there is something we can do. Thanks
[...] Hold your own diaper drive. Ask friends and neighbors to contribute and find a food bank or social service center that serves [...]