We’re very excited to participate in the Huggies® Every Little Bottom campaign to provide every baby access to clean, dry diapers.
Let me also add that I am super proud of Whitney for seeing her mission to hold a diaper drive for 1,000 diapers blossom into collecting 2500 diapers and now millions of diapers!! I just want to hug her and carry her around all day. I know it wasn’t Whitney’s single-handed efforts, but rather proof (to me) that doing small good things can have a very positive impact.
What’s the program?
The maker of Huggies plans to give away millions of diapers starting this week and raise awareness about parents who struggle financially to provide them for their children. As a first step, Huggies will donate up to 20 million diapers in the U.S. in the coming months.
Why do I care?
Our family has been in diapers now for just over five years. At the peak (one poo’sploding newborn and one super pooper toddler), our diaper budget was hundreds of dollars per month. Now, at the tail-end of the diaper daze, we are down to a meager $150/month in diapers and additional preschool charges (for a non-potty-trained kid).
Imagine if that money were not just a nuisance or a badge of parental honor (like lost hours of sleep), but instead a financial burden so immense that we had to do without other basic needs. It’s a terrible thought. Moms who have to make these choices may feel like MacGyver once in a while (with their creative solutions), but probably –more often– suffer from guilt and shame for not being able to provide the basics for their babies.
No doubt, many of these families experience the spiral from diaper rashes exacerbating an already-rough situation. More rashes = more need for diapers + less sleep.
What do we do?
As ambassadors to the program, Whitney and I will be part of the local and national efforts to collect and share diapers. We’ll also help get the word out on simple ways you can help.
What can you do?
Without even leaving your laptop, you can:
- Donate to a local diaper bank
- Host a diaper drive (ok, you’ll have to get up off your bottom to complete this mission, but not to start it!)
- Read more about the program at Every Little Bottom.com
- Follow Huggies on Twitter (#elb) and like Huggies on Facebook
- Read updates from other ambassadors and agents of “the diaper change”: A Parent in Silver Spring, House of Prince, Mommy Words, Smarty Pants Mama, and Jenny on the Spot.
This is such an important issue! I just blogged about it too. Hopefully the word will get out!!
http://knowitallmama.blogspot.com/2010/06/every-little-bottom-campaign.html
hi Heather –
Sorry to take over your comments but I wanted to make sure you heard from me! : )
I just re-tweeted your tweet about it, as a matter of fact!!
I’m rvkma on twitter.
It’s such a good cause and I am so glad to see a major company like Huggies getting behind it (um, no pun intended!)
Rebecca
I’m in dire need of assistance with diapers. My daughter is unemployed single mother of two babies under three years. Please help locate a diaper bank in Texas zip code 79072
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you
I do appreciate this movement, but I wish there was more said about cloth diapers and Elimination Communication.
I use cloth diapers 50% of the time, and its doable (unless one doesn´t have a washing machine). I got my cloth diapers 2nd hand on Ebay, so they can be quite affordable.
Hi Anna, I don’t know the answer about how to find a local diaper bank outside of my area, but I am looking into it.
Hi Anna,
This is what I learned. Check out the “Get Involved” section of the EveryLittleBottom website: http://www.huggies.com/en-US/promotions/everylittlebottom/get-involved and look under the “In Need of Diapers” section (lower left).
If there is not a local diaper bank near you, the website suggests you contact a local social service agency such as a women’s shelter, food pantry, church, publicly-funded daycare center or public health clinic to ask for support.
Good luck! I really hope that this program can benefit you and your daughter.
I have a Daugther that has a 19 mo. boy and one on the way father of the babys is working but only making 7.50 an hour.
unsure were to turn is there a dieper bank around here my zip code is TN 37762 please help thank you
You are only adding to the landfill problems by using disposable diapers. It would be more economical for everyone if you bought regular diapers and washed them yourselves. It worked for my two boys. Disable diapers are becoming a commodity not a necessity.
While I do understand that there are people in need that do not have access to a washing machine on a regular basis, but really if you want to get down to it there is no reason cloth diapers cannot be hand washed and line dried, it would just require a little more time & effort. More emphasis needs to be placed on the incredible cost savings of cloth diapers! The ones I use are all in ones that have velcro tabs – so it’s just as easy as disposable. Instead of carrying the bag from the pail to the curb I carry it to the washing machine & dump it in! My daughter averages 10 diaper changes a day, and will be celebrating her 1st birthday next week and to date I have spent less than a dollar a day (average – most of this was spent upfront on the actual diapers shortly before she was born)on diapers TOTAL, even better -the only money I will be spending on diapers for the rest of the time she is wearing them is detergent, water & electric which is VERY minimal! Better yet I can reuse the same cloth diapers if we have any future additions to our family. It should be noted there are MUCH cheaper cloth diaper options than I chose to use – I’ve found 10 pre-fold cloth diapers for just under $10 dollars, granted with those you will also need plastic covers & diaper pins, but still it is a VERY economical option!!! Bonus you’ll be passing on a healthier plant to your child as well!!! I do understand that this is not the best option for everyone BUT if you are going to the extreme of doing without other necessities or reusing disposable diapers wouldn’t it be better to be given cloth diapers than disposables?! At least these can be properly cleaned and SAFELY reused! The cost savings was the #1 reason we oped for cloth diapers, and it has proven to be the right choice for us.
Cloth diapers are a good option if you have a washing machine, the money to buy detergent, the time (especially if your a single mother), and if your child is with you all day long. Most daycare’s will not use the cloth diapers and disposable is the only choice. I am not a single parent but If I was I would be at my wits end with all of the extra laundry. I hardly get enough time with my son with my busy schedule. I think all moms should have the option of using disposable diapers for there baby and we should think how we would feel in their situation. Maybe even offering a free diaper service to low income homes to pick up and bring clean cloth diapers if that is the route they want to go.
My huband lost his job at the beggining of novemeber, and I am a full time college student. We have a 4 year old son and a 1 year old daughter. It is a struggle not knowing how and when the next little bit of money makes it our way, but what is worse is deciding what nedds to paid or bought above everything else. So when it somes to diapers it is a pleasure to have a little pack of pampers that will last a few days, and something to not stress about. I was wondering how a family like mine could get help from a donation drive like this? Sorry so short.
There are no words for how ridiculous this post is. Talking about how much diapers cost, and then making no mention of the affordability of cloth diapers.. It’s like saying you are hungry and refusing to eat the food in front of you.