By Jack Zakowski ’20
The Diaper Drive is an annual event held by the RJ Students for Life Club that’s meant to help collect diapers for mothers and fathers who need them for their babies in situations where they cannot afford them on their own.
The Diaper Drive has been going on for four years and is growing in the number of diapers raised each year. Last year, the Drive raised 26,000 diapers while this year we raised 40,000 diapers as a school.
“We outdid that number and we got 40,000 diapers in the end, which is probably one of the national bests for a school diaper drive to achieve,” said John Dowling, a four year participant in the Diaper Drive and the RJ Students for Life Club.
After the Drive, the diapers are collected and put on trucks and are then distributed throughout Diaper Banks in Colorado and in the Denver area.
The Drive was started because the club felt the problem of mothers needing diapers should be addressed. The issue is that when mothers are living in struggling, poor, or marginalized situations they often cannot afford diapers for their babies.
Forty-seven percent of U.S. of children ranging from 0-3 years of age are in a low-income situation says the National Diaper Bank Network. For Colorado alone, 200,797 children are zero to three years old. This means that almost half the babies in the U.S. face the problem of not being able to wear diapers regularly because their parents cannot afford them.
Some mothers are also forced forced to face the choice of having to leave their babies in the same diaper longer. Leaving babies in the same diaper longer can lead to diaper rashes.
The cost of diapers can range from $70-$80 dollars a month according to the National Diaper Bank Network. But since babies need 6-10 diapers a day the cost can be higher.
As Jon Powell, a moderator for the RJ Student for Life Club and four year participant of the diaper drive says, “the Drive is a good way to put our money where our mouth is.”
Luca Griego, a freshman and first year participant, is glad he could lend a hand. “It makes me feel good to help other people that cannot necessarily help themselves.”
The Diapers donated by Regis go to mothers who are struggling in a one parent household or two parent households if needed. It’s one of the many important ways we can be men with and for others.