Legacy Parenting Organizing Citywide Diaper Drive to Meet Local Needs by David Dinsmore
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hough Legacy Parenting Center primarily serves clients in providing education for local parents and guardians of young children, it also helps meet some of the physical needs of these families as well. Diapers are one of the top items they provide, and that has never been truer than this year. Legacy is a member of the National Diaper Bank Network, which allows them to increase their ability to buy large quantities of diapers at an affordable cost. These supplies in the past have typically gone to benefit the clients who come to them for their educational programs. Network membership also helps in identifying and securing grant opportunities in addition to other resources and advocacy efforts. The network will be hosting its 9th annual Diaper Need Awareness Week Sept. 21-27, and the Legacy staff has been working with the community to give locals opportunities to get involved. This year in particular has put a lot of strain on network members’ supplies of diapers, as families that used these resources to supplement their own babies’ diaper stock have found
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themselves out of work temporarily or longterm as a result of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. “We've seen – not just in Shawnee but in Pott County and surrounding cities – our diaper distributions go up 61 percent since March,” Legacy executive director Lacey Holt said. “They asked all of the diaper bank members across the country to just help raise awareness, because one in three families suffers from diaper need. That's the ability to keep their baby clean, dry and healthy. That was before the pandemic, so I'd be very interested to see nationally what that number is now.” As of late August, Legacy had given out 107,000 diapers to 490 babies since the beginning of the year, Holt said. This surpasses their previous year highs with four months still left in 2020. The staff and volunteers at Legacy began preparing for the diaper awareness week push long before its official start on Sept. 21. Holt said she has been trying to work with the city to file an official proclamation to declare a local Diaper Need Awareness Week. They have also worked with local organizations and individuals on past
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