Kimberly-Clark Diaper Bank Receives New Operations Hub

Since 2011, Kimberly-Clark North America and United Way Fox Cities have worked together to meet the needs of the local community through their diaper bank.

Kimberly-Clark Diaper Bank’s mission is to raise community awareness of the need for diapers to help low-income families address this need. United Way Fox Cities, meanwhile, serves as the lead in the coordination/collection of diapers, which are then delivered to designated agencies, and distributed directly to families in need.

Recently, the search for disposable diapers among families in need has increased. With the arrival of the pandemic, Kimberly-Clark Diaper Bank, which served an average of 900 babies from Fox Cities (Wisconsin, USA) per month, started to assist 1,000 babies in the region.

According to United Way Fox Cities Director of Community Engagement Meghan Sherwood, there are several possible reasons for this increased demand. Unemployment as a result of the pandemic was one of the main ones, as many families were left without income, had to readjust their lives and relying on the diaper bank to provide a “relief” in their budgets. The director also added that, even with society adapting to the “new normal”, families are still recovering from this crisis.

The services of St. The Joseph Food Program, a non-profit organization based in Menasha, is also increasingly sought after by families in Fox Cities. In August 2021, the St. Joseph’s provided diapers to 46 families – or 64 children – through the diaper bank. A year later, it started to serve 93 families, totaling 120 children.

Monica Clare, Executive Director of St. Joseph Food Program, explained that the organization distributes diapers to families once a month and, when the action takes place, the entity receives the greatest number of visitors.

The increase in the number of families in need of diapers is not limited to the Fox Cities region. The Every Little Bottom study, commissioned by Kimberly-Clark’s Huggies® brand, reveals that the need for diapers is a critical issue in the United States among low-income families. According to the study, one in three American families suffer from a lack of diapers for their babies.

EXPANSION OF THE SERVICE

With the increase in demand for diapers, it was necessary to create a space for the Kimberly-Clark Diaper Bank to expand its service. With that, the United Way Fox Cities Hub was born.

Until then, the diaper bank used a small space in a warehouse where diapers donated by K-C were stored until volunteers began the process of repackaging and distributing them to partner organizations such as St. Joseph Food Program.

Now, the new hub – which was built with the help of local construction companies – offers a conference room, isolated sterile packing area, increased physical space and its own entrance.

The hub recently received a special contribution from the Huggies brand, which donated 250,000 diapers to the Kimberly-Clark Diaper Bank, Oshkosh Area United Way and Brown County United Way in honor of National Diaper Need Awareness Week, which took place between 24 September and October 2 in the United States.