Green Child Magazine Spring 2014 | Page 19

|by Kimberly Rosas In 2010, Giving Diapers Giving Hope founder Kristen McCarthy became pregnant with her second child, was laid off from her teaching job, became a single parent, and had to move out of her home—all within a few months. With two children in diapers, and ineligible for public assistance, Kristen had to stretch what little money she had. Thankfully, she had invested in cloth diapers before losing her job— with out them she would not have been able to afford to diaper her children at all. Even if she had qualified for SNAP or WIC, neither of these programs covered diapers. Kristen knew firsthand how it felt to have to choose between diapers and food. It was this that inspired Kristen and her friend Emily Glover to create Giving Diapers, Giving Hope’s first local cloth diaper bank in Gloucester, MA. Giving Diapers, Giving Hope grew into a national diaper bank, shipping cloth diapers to approved families, about 16 per family with one child. Families only pay the cost of shipping and are asked to return the diapers when they were done with diapering or able to afford their own set. Emily took on the role of receiving donations, sorting, and doing minor repair work from her own home. Kristen handled application approvals and the ever increasing email requests. Soon Giving Diapers, Giving Hope began receiving help from student volunteers through their local YMCA during the school year. In 2012, their small operation suddenly began receiving more than 10 applications a week. Try as they might, they simply couldn’t keep up with the workload. In the summer of 2013, GDGH announced that they would be taking a break from national lending—Emily was due with a new baby in July, Kristen would be working two jobs, and their student volunteers would be unable to assist with shipping for the summer. It was time to decide how to proceed, and to determine if it was even possible. In October of 2013, Giving Diapers, Giving Hope received the help they so desperately needed in order to continue their mission of helping more families use cloth and diaper their children. GroVia and The Natural Baby Company took on the responsibilities of receiving, sorting, packing and shipping diapers to families. Using their large storage facility in Montana, and the help of their employees, this partnership lifted the burden and made the ability to help families nationally possible once again. Since re-opening to national applications in February 2014, Giving Diapers, Giving Hope and GroVia team have shipped out more than 70 complete cloth diaper stashes - diapering 85 children! Families who apply to Giving Diapers, Giving Hope come from all over the country and reflect a wide range of backgrounds. Some applicants are single mothers without work, some are newlyweds who are scraping, and others are families who had it all until one, or both, lost their jobs or faced unexpected medical hardships. With the help of Giving Diapers, Giving Hope families can save $1,000 or more and put $600 a year towards expenses and other needs for their families. Disposable diapers banks may serve as a bandaid for diaper need, but Giving Diapers, Giving Hope has shown that cloth diapering can be th e cure. 19