Diaper donations give parents breathing room
P-C's Do It! campaign for Diaper Bank crosses halfway mark
Written by
Kyle Daly
Post-Crescent staff writer
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MENASHA — Menasha residents Stephenie and Matthew Schmeichel know where they want to be.
In five years, the couple hope to pay off their bills, have good credit, live in a house or duplex, and not have to survive paycheck to paycheck.
“We just want to be stable,” said Stephenie, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her husband and their 7-month-old son, Matthew Jr. “We just want to be able to provide for him, so he can go to school and have nice clothes.”
With rent payments, credit card bills, utility costs and other necessities weighing them down, the couple has reached out for help — receiving assistance from the state FoodShare program, WIC and a local food bank.
But now, a United Way Fox Cities initiative is giving the family a bit of breathing room when it comes to one very important necessity: diapers.
“You can never have enough when you have a baby,” Stephenie said.
The Schmeichels received bags of diapers this past month from the St. Joseph Food Program in Menasha, one of the distributors for the Fox Cities Diaper Bank. The United Way initiative kicked off last year following a 2010 study commissioned by Kimberly-Clark’s Huggies Brand that found 1 in 3 U.S. mothers have difficulty fulfilling their babies’ diaper needs. The diaper bank was created in collaboration with Kimberly-Clark’s national campaign, “Every Little Bottom.”
The Post-Crescent’s annual Dollars for Diapers Do It! campaign helps bring in money for the Fox Cities Diaper Bank. Last year, $62,454 was raised, helping purchase more than 550,000 diapers. The fundraiser crossed the halfway mark Tuesday for this year’s $30,000 goal.
The campaign, which began Mother’s Day and ends Father’s Day on June 17, has raised $15,240 so far. The J. J. Keller Foundation will match donations up to $10,000, and United Way Fox Cities will match donations up to $5,000.
Local agencies including the St. Joseph Food Program, the Salvation Army-Fox Cities, the Hortonville Community Food Pantry and Community 2000 in Seymour distribute the bank’s diapers.
Pat Leigl, social services director for the Salvation Army-Fox Cities, said his agency hands out diapers to families on a daily basis. Since January, the agency has given out 38,200.
“It’s one of those items they can really use help with,” Leigl said.
Before the diaper bank, he said cases of diapers were donated here and there, and mini diaper drives were held, but nothing was consistent.
“It was a hit and miss,” Leigl said.
At the St. Joseph Food Program in Menasha, where the Schmeichels go, Director of Operations Monica Clare said diapers are given to families once a month. Those with children up to age 3 may receive up to two packages of diapers — a guideline set up by the diaper bank.
“I don’t know anybody who qualifies for diapers that doesn’t take diapers,” Clare said.
She said it’s difficult limiting clients to two packages because some families, especially those with many children, could use more.
StephenieSchmeichel said she tries to buy diapers every month.
“But sometimes, when babies get the flu, they go through so much more diapers than you expect,” she said.
Matthew Schmeichel said he thinks his family would be able to get by without the donated diapers, but it would cut into other expenses or other, more pressing needs.
“Maybe we wouldn’t get the same kind of food that we normally would,” he said.
— Kyle Daly: 920-993-1000, ext. 430, or ; On Twitter @kyledaly