Celebrate #GivingTuesday and Help Babies in Need

by Jen Tilley on November 29th, 2016 | No Comments »

Did you know that 1 in 3 families in the United States experience diaper need: not having enough diapers to keep a baby clean, dry, and healthy? Researchers from Yale University that not having enough diapers was more stressful to them than not having a place to live or enough food? The study, published in Pediatrics, highlights what you already know: Moms just want to do right by their kids and will do anything to keep them happy and healthy.

Mom It Forward recently partnered with The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) to help combat diaper need through a blog tour campaign and diaper drive events across the country. This #GivingTuesday, you can help.

What is #GivingTuesday? During the lead up to and during Tuesday, November 29, the collective power of charities, families, businesses, and individuals will create a moment around the holidays dedicated to giving. We all want to help make this season the biggest giving season yet.

AWHONN is running a Healthy Mom&Baby campaign in partnership with Huggies® and the National Diaper Bank Network. These organizations are working to close the diaper gap so that families don’t have to choose between food, work, childcare, and diapering their infants. Their goal this year is to collect more than 250,000 diapers—and they need your help.

Babies risk severe diaper rash and infection from wearing soiled diapers for extended periods of time and when parents dry and reuse dirty diapers. Not having enough diapers to maintain a “supply” at childcare means an infant can't attend day care. As a result, mom or dad might be forced to abandon work—and a paycheck—to care for baby. It’s an unfortunate cycle that harms a family’s health and well-being.

3 Ways to Help Babies Who Need Diapers

So, how you can help?

1.) Make an Online Donation

Visit DiaperDrive.org and make a donation. A little bit goes a long way to help those 1 in 3 families in your community who don’t have all of the diapers they need to send their children to day care or preschool.

2.) Host a Diaper Drive

Gather your friends together, stop at the store to pick up diapers, and then head to your local diaper bank to drop off the diapers. Easy peasy. Click here to find your local diaper bank.

3.) Celebrate #GivingTuesday

Be sure to donate via DiaperDrive.org and then send out a few Facebook updates and/or tweets to help spread the word about the issue of diaper need.

Here are some examples of what you can send out to your friends, family members, and followers:

Facebook:

5.3 million babies in America are affected by diaper need. Help end this now by donating at bit.ly/2016diaperdrive.
5.3 million babies don’t have enough diapers to stay clean, dry & healthy. JoinHealthy Mom&Baby to end diaper need at bit.ly/2016diaperdrive.
1/3 of American families can’t afford enough diapers. Join Healthy Mom&Baby to end diaper need at bit.ly/2016diaperdrive.
Toddlers in need can’t go to preschool without a “diaper stash.” Your $20 donation=two weeks of diapers needed to attend. Donate today at bit.ly/2016diaperdrive.
Send a baby or toddler to school with enough diapers to attend; together let’s end diaper need. Donate today at bit.ly/2016diaperdrive.

Twitter:

5.3 million babies don’t have enough diapers to be clean, dry, healthy. Join @Health4Mom; end #diaperneed bit.ly/2016diaperdrive #moms4babies
1/3 of American families can’t afford enough diapers. Join @Health4Mom to end #DiaperNeed. bit.ly/2016diaperdrive #moms4babies
Almost half of babies & toddlers lack diapers for preschool. Join @Health4Mom to fight #DiaperNeed at bit.ly/2016diaperdrive. #moms4babies