Million diapers for WestSide Baby – but that’s just a start
(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)
What a relief! WestSide Baby has welcomed shipments totaling 1 million diapers this past week, partly thanks to pandemic relief – with $225,000 received from the City of Seattle’s Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Diaper Distribution program. We were at the nonprofit’s White Center hub this morning as the final installment arrived. Yet as impressive as a million diapers sounds, the need is even greater.
Last year alone, WestSide Baby provided families with a record-high number of diapers – 2.4 million. Executive director Sarah Cody Roth notes, “In King County, 23% of families could not afford enough diapers and the devastating economic impacts of COVID have only widened that gap.” The nonprofit has strong community support, but the city contribution has made a huge difference. West Seattle/South Park City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who chairs the Public Safety and Human Services Committee, calls WS Baby “a regional treasure … helping low-income families survive through the pandemic.” Also invaluably helpful, WestSide Baby says, was its WC neighbor La Mexicana, which temporarily donated warehouse space to help store all those diapers. Now they’re racing to distribute them quickly!
(WestSide Baby photo)
That photo’s from a delivery in West Seattle’s High Point neighborhood. “We have never done anything this big before – we are coordinating the distribution of 700,000 diapers over the next 4 weeks, one of the quickest and largest distributions we have ever done, all in response to emergency need this winter,” said Will Owen, WS Baby’s donation and logistics manager.
Here’s how you can help: Support WS Baby’s holiday-season JOY campaign – have a diaper drive, donate to one, and/or donate money so the purchases – and distributions! – can continue. Follow the link to see what else is on their most-needed list – such as winter coats, warm hats and gloves, and baby hygiene items.
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