Welcome
Hello and welcome to the Pittsburgh Diaper Drive website. We're here to help low-income families afford diapers for their children. Through the month of September, we'll be collecting diapers for the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank.
Did you know...
That diapers and wipes aren't covered by Food Stamps or WIC?
And that diapers cost an average of $100 per child per month?
Whether you donate an entire pack of diapers or just the two left in your bag, with your help we can make a difference!
Please donate some diapers in September!
Or donate money now with the Donate link to the right
Recent News
8/13/2009 - Local Mom to Organize Diaper Drive
Pittsburgh, PA Aug. 13, 2009 – Inspired by a Time Magazine profile of a diaper bank in New Haven, Conn. (Time Magazine, April 16 “Starting a Diaper Bank”), Dr. Heather Starr Fiedler, a local mom, professor and Web site founder is bringing the concept to the Pittsburgh area.
Diaper banks and diaper drives are springing up all around the country as more people learn about the startling fact that, while you can buy junk food and soda using food stamps, you cannot buy diapers. Because they are not considered “consumable” products, diapers and baby wipes are off-limits to federal food stamps and Women Infant Children programs, leaving low-income moms struggling to afford the nearly $100 per month cost to diaper a child.
In conjunction with her PittsburghMom Web site and the Greater Pittsburgh Food bank, she’ll be holding a “Diaper Drive” to collect diapers for low-income families. The drive will run now through the month of September, and Fielder hopes to collect not only new packs of diapers and wipes but also any spare diapers a mom might be carrying in her bag as well as monetary donations to purchase diapers. Drop off locations will be located at the National Aviary, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, BounceU, the Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library, E2 Toys 2 Try and Point Park University. Monetary donations can be made via the Diaper Drive Web site, PittsburghDiaperDrive.org
Honeydo.com generously supplied the boxes for the diaper collections.
All this is needed because the statistics are shocking: Nearly 39 percent of Pennsylvania children under age six are living in ”low-income” families (families are considered low income if the family income is less than twice the federal poverty threshold, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty). More than 80 percent of low-income children have parents who work, and most have at least one parent working full-time, year-round. Nonetheless, many of these parents are unable to afford basic necessities for their families, such as food, housing and stable child care
While using cloth diapers may be an alternative to the monthly cost of disposable diapers, the vast majority of licensed day care centers do not accept cloth diapers, and many people living in poverty do not have affordable access to washing facilities. Furthermore, most coin-operated laundromats do not allow customers to wash cloth diapers for health and sanitary reasons.
Struggling to afford basic diapers for a child can lead to health concerns as well. In poor and low-income families, a baby can spend a day or longer in one diaper, leading to potential health risks like rashes and infections and subsequent abuse risks.
Fiedler is an Indiana Township resident, mother of two preschoolers, a journalism assistant professor at Point Park University, and the founder and general manager of PitsburghMom.com.
Contact: Dr. Heather Starr Fiedler
412-916-3216
hstarr@pointpark.edu