Those of you close to me know that our family has been trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to potty train P. I look longingly at friends’ kids who have cleared this hurdle with their non-puffy tushies and sigh. And then I head to Target to pick up another 64-pack.
I have that luxury. We may not like the fact that we’ve been buying the suckers for almost three years now, but we’re blessed to be able to do so. Not all families are able to take a necessity like diapers for granted. Diapers are terribly expensive; wipes, diaper cream, more wipes, more diapers. For many families, choices are made each day between food and rent and meeting their child’s most basic of needs. And it stinks (pardon the pun).
That’s why when my buddy Kate told me about United Way’s most recent piece of their Live United campaign, I was particularly interested.
Pretty cool, huh? The Give 5 Diaper Drive is simple and you don’t need to be Oprah to make a difference. Simply go to their site, donate $5 and then encourage five or more friends to do the same.
“REACH OUT A HAND TO ONE AND INFLUENCE THE CONDITION OF ALL” – wow that’s powerful stuff for five bucks and five emails, eh?
So who’s with me? Five bucks to change our community? Skip an extra value meal and become a hero!
5 comments
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May 20, 2009 at 9:35 am
Olivia
I’ve seen this program promoted in a few places – I think its a great idea and I’m always happy to see working families get help in tough times. I wonder, though, if any thought was given to promoting the use of cloth diapers? Cloth requires a larger up-front investment, but is much more economical over the course of several years.
I certainly get that many people are not interested in cloth diapering (hey, to each their own!) but it would have been interesting if UW maybe offered the choice to these families: X number of disposables, or X number of cloth diapers.
Regardless, thanks to UW for helping families in our area!
May 20, 2009 at 11:10 am
Katy
Hi Olivia! Thanks so much for your interest in our program! We have discussed the option of cloth diapers here at UW. The one thing that I hadn’t taken into consideration is that many laundromats and apartment management firms do not allow customers to wash/dry soiled diapers in their machines – and unfortunately the folks we are reaching out to assist do not have their own washers and dryers in many cases. We thought diapers were the easiest, most affordable solution for the recipients.
Thanks again for your support – I am so excited about this opportunity, as it is one way we can all work together to create a brighter future in Greater Cincinnati.
May 20, 2009 at 11:36 am
Olivia
Katy – thanks for your reply. I figured that was probably the reason – but its great to hear that you guys discussed the possibility! Thanks again for starting up this program, I hope its a great success for you!
May 20, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Natalia Burleson
Oh thanks for this info! I’m going to do it and hopefully post it on my blog!
You are so right. We had the luxury of allowing our son to take the lead on potty training. He would know when he was able to recognize his body signals. Once he did we took him out of diapers that day and never looked back. He was over 3 1/2 years old – we went through a LOT of diapers. Thank goodness we were able to afford them, barely! Great cause! Off to watch the video and donate….
May 27, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Auds at Barking Mad
Thanks for sharing this info!
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t thrilled that Imp is finally out of diapers. We went through tons of ‘sposies and I spent an obscene amount on cloth diapers too. It was nice to have that luxury and I am more than happy to donate to something as awesome as this!
Off to donate and spread the word.