6th Annual

Diaper Drop

Drive up and drop off diapers!

Wednesday,
May 14, 2025
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

in front of the Miracle Lane Clothing Center

A dry baby is a happy, healthy baby!

Christ Child Society’s Diaper Drop collected over 50,000 in 2024.
Help us provide even more this year!

A sad fact of reality for many families living in poverty is that there is only enough money to supply a handful of diapers daily. That is why we pledged to help with this on-going need through supplying diapers to some of our referral agencies. We selected agencies who distribute or use diapers daily or weekly in their year-round missions.

How you can help

Begin buying and storing diapers now on your trips to the grocery store or pharmacy – sizes 3 through 7 and pull-ups are the greatest need
Clip Coupons to alleviate soaring prices
Bring diapers directly to CCS during regular hours. (Please do not ship directly from Walmart – they have issues with the hours we are open, and your diapers may be returned.)
Ask family and friends to help you celebrate Mother’s Day or another occasion by foregoing a gift and gifting diapers instead (Several years ago,a member did this for her birthday and delivered 1,075 diapers on the day of the drop! )
Tell neighbors about our Diaper Drive and be willing to deliver their donations
Honor your mother or her memory, or a mom who you admire, by donating diapers to this worthy cause
Consider organizing a diaper drive at your church ( one year the congregation at Christ the King Lutheran Church collected diapers during the month of April and delivered 2,692 donations to us on Drop Day! )
Deliver diapers to referral agencies on the afternoon of the event if you have an exceptionally large vehicle

Why a Diaper Drop?

Babies need about 240 to 300 diapers monthly in the first year’ in their second year they need 120 to 170 monthly. That translates to about $80 monthly for a newborn to $95 for toddlers.
1 in 3 low-income families have experienced the stress of diaper need. Over 20% of children in St. Joseph County live in poverty.
When a baby cries, one of the first things checked is his diaper. The inability to soothe a crying child – often because of diaper rash, a wet diaper or discomfort – is the number one cause of child abuse and feelings of inadequacy in the parents.
Toddlers are often toilet trained before they are physically or emotionally ready in order for parents to save diaper costs. According to the Academy of Pediatrics, mastery of the developmental skills required for toilet training occurs after 24 months of age, yet many toddlers living in poverty are trained much earlier.
Babies who remain in dirty diapers for prolonged periods experience diaper rash, infections and related health problems. An insufficient supply of diapers is a risk factor for poor infant and child health.
Parents who are unable to provide diapers experience a diminished sense of maternal/paternal confidence; stress, guilt and frustration at their inability to soothe a distressed baby negatively impacts a family’s overall mental health and stability. Crying babies are common triggers of abuse, as caretakers become frustrated and angry at their inability to stop the child from crying.
SNAP (food stamps) does not include funding for diapers or hygiene products. Typically, diapers account for 1/3 of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) which should cover basic needs like rent, utilities, clothing and transportation. In other words, government assistance is woefully inadequate for the diaper needs of infants and toddlers.
Though many argue impoverished mothers should use reusable cloth diapers, those are seldom a satisfactory option. Laundromat costs and access are prohibitive, and many laundromats forbid diaper washing for sanitary reasons. The water in laundromats is typically not hot enough to sanitize soiled diapers.
Ways of coping with a lack of diapers include taking the disposable diapers off, dumping out the poop, and putting the diapers back on as well as air-drying the diapers and reusing them. Did you just think, Yuck! Exactly. Imagine having to do that every day.
There is no consistent, reliable, local source of free or low-cost diapers locally.