Bill Youmans of Rocky Mountain Diaper Depot is always ready with a smile and a helping hand when we arrive to pick up the diapers he and his wife Joan put together for us. They started RMDD in 2009 when they became aware of how much families were struggling with providing their babies with diapers in our community. "We hear a lot about food and socks for cold weather and hats and so forth, but we were always hearing about diapers, and it never dawned on us about how expensive these were, and what a challenge it becomes for families living in those situations to provide enough diapers to keep their kids dry and healthy and safe. So we decided to combine the idea of a food bank, but turn it into a diaper bank." In the last five years, Rocky Mountain Diaper Depot has provided DICP with about 100,000 diapers, pull-ups, and wipes; enough entirely cover a football field. In March 2022 alone, DICP was able to help forty-two families with the diapers donated by Rocky Mountain Diaper Depot.
Aid has noticeably become more necessary, especially as we've seen inflation rise across the country for just about every cost a family needs to cover. The average cost of diapers per child last year was $80 a month, meaning if you had two babies it could cost you $1,920 for the year (CNN). Reports from April of 2021 consistently said diaper prices were up nearly 9% from 2020, and that the trend was sure to continue. Not only has that prediction proven true in 2022, but customers are now falling prey to shrink-flation, when companies decrease the number of diapers in a box from 116 to 97 without decreasing the price.
Bill points out that corporate decisions like these have ripple effects that not only affect finances, but also health and emotional well-being. "I've personally seen moms that are taking the wet diapers and hanging them over dryer vents, and reusing diapers over and over just because they don't have anything. We've kind of come to learn that moms and dads always try to be the best they know how, and if that means reusing a diaper three or four times because they can't afford another one... I've seen little kids wearing grocery bags with holes cut out in them with toilet paper in them for diapers."
We feel a kinship with RMDD because we share the same mission of empowering people to break the cycle of poverty. When expenses pile up and scarcity-induced anxieties set in, one alleviated burden can start a domino effect to success. "Diapers give moms the opportunity to go to job interviews, go to school. Daycares won't take your kid unless you show up with diapers in hand ready to go. If you don't have diapers, nobody goes to daycare, everything stops and everybody stays at home. One little diaper makes a world of difference when it's needed."
How You Can Help:
Educate yourself on the costs: We really encourage people who aren't in the market to visit their local grocery store or price club and see how much the diapers cost and imagine how that eats into a family's expenses.
Donate directly to DICP: We take in-kind donations of diapers and baby wipes Monday through Friday 9am-1pm, or you can call in and make an appointment with our staff!
Donate directly to RMDD, or better yet, contact them to start a diaper drive in your neighborhood or organization: Rocky Mountain Diaper Depot is inviting people to start a diaper drive for Mother's Day in five easy steps, check out how at the link above!
Follow our Partner:
Website: www.rmdiaperdepot.org
Facebook: Rocky Mountain Diaper Depot
