Many might forget that one of the essentials that Central New York families are struggling to afford during this pandemic is diapers. CNY Diaper Bank founder and director Michela Hugo says so many families have lost jobs, hours, and pay.
“The pandemic is really shining a light on a lot of the need that we’re seeing. Diaper need is an everyday crisis but right now it's affecting a lot more families than it normally does.”
Next week is Diaper Need Awareness Week, and the diaper bank has organized a virtual 5K run, walk, or crawl to raise funds that help the organization purchase diapers in bulk. Hugo says their distribution has doubled since the pandemic began.
“We’re spending a lot more on diapers. We’re ordering diapers by the truckload almost every month. We’re going through a much larger quantity than we anticipated and we want to keep that up because there’s such an increase in need.”
Hugo says many don’t realize diapers aren’t covered by government assistance, so the event is a way to spread awareness.
“They don’t realize how expensive they are. They don’t realize the impact that family feels when they can't afford to buy enough diapers. There’s physical consequences. There’s emotional consequences. There’s long term developmental consequences for children.”
Information and registration for the diaper run is at cnydiaperbank.org under events. All funds raised through fees and t-shirt purchases goes toward the purchase of diapers. Participants are urged to share their activity on social media and show they’re making a diaper run for families that can’t afford to.
