Griffin's spearheading county diaper drive

Posted

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - Griffin Muffler & Brake Center is spearheading a Diaper Drive for the month of November for the families of Lee County in need of an adequate amount of diapers.

Please help the families of Lee County with a need for diapers by donating a package today. Drop off areas are at Griffin Muffler & Brake Center, 535 Ave G, all Connection Bank offices, and MidWestOne Bank at 926 Ave G.

Nannette Griffin, owner of the auto service center said the idea is unique to the area.

"I thought what a different idea that hasn't been done in our area. So I contacted Dolly Stancil with Community Action to see if they had families in need and she told me about the shortage in the county," Griffin said.

Griffin said she then started doing some research and found Iowa has three diaper banks with one in Cedar Rapids. She said she wanted the efforts to directly impact the area, so all the diapers collected will go to Community Action.

She said she wanted to reach out to Human Resource directors in the county to see if they incorporate the effort with employees with maybe some sort of contest. She said she would offer to pick up the collections.

"I have been overwhelmed by not only the need in Lee County, but all across the nation. Families received help by way of groceries, but not for diapers, wipes, or basic needs like laundry soap, etc. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could get 10,000 packages of diapers collected?"

According to Community Action of Lee County, there are approximately 1,200 children ranging from infants to toddlers in need of diapers. Community Action can only give 6 diapers at a time to families asking for help. There is a huge shortage.

The National Diaper Bank states there should be up to 12 diaper changes a day to keep the child healthy and promote development. That’s over 14,000 diapers a day in Lee County alone at an average cost of $80.00 per month for one child. The number of diapers for one year per child is 2,457 according to DiaperPlanner.com. The break down is 0-3 Months up to 10 per day, 3-6 Months up to 7 per day, and 6-11 Months up to 5 per day.

Most working parents rely on child care. Most child care facilities require parents to provide diapers for their child. Without child care, parents can’t work or attend school. 72% of Iowa mothers are in the workforce. The national average is 63%. Early Head Start provides diapers for infants and toddlers.

DataUSA statistics show there are over 16,000 workers in Lee County. 16.4% of Lee County families are below poverty rate. If 75% of the employees of Lee County would donate one package of diapers, that would total 12,000 packages of diapers.

If you have any questions or ideas on how to make November Diaper Drive Month for Lee County, please call Nannette Griffin at 319-372-2478 or email griffinmuffler@gmail.com.

Community action, diaper drive, donations, downtown, fort madison, Griffin Muffler & Brake Center, lee county, Pen City Current

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here