News

Agencies' diaper supply runs dry

By Jaye Alderson
Compass Correspondent

	SUPPORTING LIFE: Peg Saindon and 16-month-old Paige Shepard at the Diaper Depot at St. John the Baptist Church, Seymour. Parishioners can leave the diapers, which are given to Mother and Unborn Baby Care, Appleton. Love Life in Green Bay and the Place 2B in Oshkosh also have a pressing need for diapers. (Rick Evans photo)

Many Christian-based organizations throughout the diocese address the needs of low-income mothers and pregnant women requiring assistance. The groups offer everything from clothing to food, formula, furniture, equipment and counseling. But all of them have a particularly desperate common need - diapers.

"That is our clients' most urgent need," said Sharon Zambrowicz, west-side coordinator of Love Life Ministries in Green Bay. "It's an ongoing need. It's something they use and have to keep using until the child is trained."

Love Life has two locations: on the west side at St. Joseph Church, 926 Ninth St.; and on the east side at Peace United Methodist Church, 919 Schwartz St. From 50 to 75 volunteers staff the centers from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursdays.

Zambrowicz said the organization's need for diapers is huge. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1,563 families obtained 13,218 packages of diapers through Love Life.

Even with that, Zambrowicz said, "We can't meet all of their needs. The low-income women have trouble paying for the amount that they need, and we supplement them. We give them a helping hand. We do get donations of diapers, but the cost is terrific. Between the two Love Life sites, they're running about $2,500 a month."

She said several churches help support the program by holding "baby showers" or sponsoring giving trees to collect diapers and items needed for layette packages. But they don't get a huge amount of diapers because of their relative cost. She said donation of diaper coupons would not be effective because they buy mostly off-brand diapers.

"It has been mentioned, 'Why don't they use cloth diapers?' " she said. "Some of them don't have washing machines, and going to Laundromat would be quite expensive."

Love Life is supported by donations, grants and cookie fund-raisers the group holds. It also has many enthusiastic volunteers, including Zambrowicz's husband, Larry, who helps repair donated furniture and equipment. Zambrowicz can be reached at (920)499-4105.

Appleton needs

At Mother and Unborn Baby Care, a nonprofit charitable organization at 526 W. Wisconsin Ave., Appleton, diapers are also the most needed item by the clients.

Peg Saindon, who is on the board of directors, said, "The most popular item is diapers because most of our clients are young single mothers without much support. Diapers take a big bite out of their income."

Mother and Unborn Baby Care serves females of reproductive age, about 12 to 45 years old, but most of the clients are ages 19 to 22. The free program is run in Spanish, Hmong and English.

In its Earn as You Learn program, mothers can earn "Mommy Dollars" by watching videos about subjects such as bathing and diapering a baby and nutrition for toddlers, in addition to one-on-one counseling. "Mommy Dollars" can be exchanged for baby clothing, cribs, playpens, car seats, books on baby care, formula and so on.

"Our biggest expense is diapers," Saindon said. "We spend $600 or $700 a week buying diapers. We serve on average more than 1,000 women a year, so that's a lot of diapers."

She said her parish, St. John the Baptist in Seymour, has set up a "Diaper Depot" - a playpen where people can leave donations of diapers and other baby items for Mother and Unborn Baby Care. Because they buy so many diapers, they also welcome diaper coupons.

"Our chief goal right now is getting churches to participate and help us run the 'Diaper Depot' by setting up a playpen or crib in the church, particularly sizes 3 and 4. Mothers are using their 'Mommy Dollars' to buy hundreds of diapers a week. I think they go through 50 to 70 diapers a week each. And when you have a thousand moms coming in, it's more than 1,000 babies. We like to say we're saving lives from the bottom up."

Oshkosh help

Fr. Martin Carr, who runs the Place 2B in Oshkosh, agrees that getting enough diapers for his clients is difficult.

"We keep telling people about the problem, that we have to go out and buy them," Fr. Carr said.

He said they don't always have enough diapers to fill the needs of the people staying at the Place 2B's Holy Family Villa Shelter, so they have to focus the supplies they have on the shelter. He said he doesn't know how many diapers they supply because "we take care of one child at a time." However, they try to get the word out that donations to the shelter are needed.

"Traditionally, people think of groceries, but we try to broaden that horizon a little bit," Fr. Carr said. "Baby food, formula and diapers are very important."

He said people are welcome to drop off donations or coupons at any time.

Help appreciated

Zambrowicz said it is apparent how important the services of these organizations are when they get thanks from the clients.

One wrote: "I'm so grateful for everything Love Life has done for me . They have helped me out often over these past five years when I was feeling pretty desperate.... I needed the diapers and other baby things a lot. But I also needed some love and care and that's where I found it - Love Life."

Zambrowicz added, "The quality of life for young mothers and mothers-to-be is enhanced by the material items they receive. They also receive emotional support. Consequently, their degree of personal self-esteem rises. This ministry does not enable people but gives them a boost for a brighter future."