300,000 diapers donated to Southern Arizona diaper bank

Two semi-trucks packed with boxes of diapers from Huggies and the National Diaper Bank Network arrived in the morning, said Lindsey Jones, executive director of the diaper bank.

The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and Tucson Medical Center offered warehouse space to store the diapers.

The diapers were made available to the local diaper bank because it was awarded a grant of 2 million diapers over a two-year period, Jones said. She said Thursday’s shipment was the second installment of the 1 million alloted for this year.

“We were the first diaper bank in the nation. It began as a volunteer-driven diaper drive in 1994, and the community overwhelmingly supported it,” Jones said.

“It became a nonprofit agency in 1999, and now there are 150 diaper banks across the country,” she said.

The diaper bank provides 600,000 diapers a year to 51 social services agencies that distribute the diapers to needy families.

“The diapers help keep children clean and healthy, and relieve stress for families who cannot afford diapers,” Jones said.

The need is 1.5 million diapers a year, and with the award more families will be helped, she said.

In addition, 3,000 diapers of those awarded to the local diaper bank were dropped off at a fledgling diaper bank in Albuquerque that is operated by one woman, Jones said.

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart to the bottoms of our recipients,” said Susan Dooreck, executive director of the Diaper Bank of New Mexico.