Can you imagine not being able to keep your baby clean, dry, and healthy? The truth is, 1 in 3 families report having struggled to afford diapers at some point.

Consider the resulting problems that occur—everything from risk of infection to diaper rash to other health problems that may require expensive medical attention.

This is the sad reality for many families in Northern Colorado. The past couple of years have been especially difficult. Right now, Colorado, like every other state, is dealing with high inflation which has led to grocery bills, for even the most basic items, to skyrocket.

Right along with soaring food prices, diapers, wipes, and other hygiene products have become too expensive and out of reach for some of our neighbors right here in the Northern Colorado community.

This has contributed to an increase in what is known as diaper need or diaper poverty.

A 2022 study showed that of 1,256 Colorado women surveyed 57% of those with children in diapers struggle with diaper need. 53% report not having enough diapers for their children, needing to borrow or go without changing them.

This unfortunate struggle is happening in our own backyard in 2023. The good news is that with your help this can be fixed.

Step 1: Acknowledge the problem of diaper need occurring in our communities by:

• Ensuring our most vulnerable neighbors can get diapers and wipes

• Continuing to speak out for our neighbors through education efforts

• Building lasting change by creating a more sustainable infrastructure

Step 2: Work together to tackle this hidden crisis

• Connect and create distribution points for quality, eco-friendly products

• Work with underwriters, suppliers, and volunteers to obtain diapers and wipes for families who need them 

• Partner with food pantries, schools and universities, and government agencies to distribute supplies where they’re needed most 

With your help, we can make a difference in the lives of families struggling to care for their babies, suffering in silence with the stigma and backlash that comes with accepting assistance to meet a basic hygiene essential.

Are you ready to make an impact and end diaper need? 

Our goal is to make sure every neighbor has access to diapers. Our partner, the Grace Upon Grace Project, has started by providing more than 188,374 diapers and 391,580 wipes to date, to our neighbors in our Northern Colorado communities.

If you’re an employer, if you’re an educator, if you’re a coach, if you’re a decision maker, if you’re someone who believes in equal rights and opportunities, if you’re someone who looks for ways to make the world a better place—you know that diaper need is something that impacts all of us.

Here’s your chance to do something about it.

Know that even a small, one-time donation will go a long way in making sure those who must choose between filling their cart with food or hygiene products, like diapers and wipes, will no longer have to make that choice.

Diaper need is defined as the lack of a sufficient supply of diapers to keep an infant or child clean, dry, and healthy. Families that experience diaper need see an increased risk for health problems with their children. Addressing this need not only improves the health and well-being of infants and children but improves family stability by allowing parents to participate in work or education without worrying about their child’s basic needs not being met.

What does that look like?

• A baby develops a rash, infection, or another health issue that not only result in physical discomfort but feelings of shame on the part of a parent or caregiver who feels inadequate for not being able to care for their baby or small child.

• A parent misses work taking care of a sick infant or child which further decreases the family’s income and places their job in jeopardy.

• A family is forced to go without food or other hygiene necessities to afford wipes and disposable diapers.

Diaper need goes hand in hand with the poverty rate itself in the state of Colorado, meaning, your most vulnerable neighbors already struggling to meet the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter, are more at risk of going without diapers and wipes.

The existence of food deserts complicates things even more. Northern Colorado is home to several food deserts, meaning your neighbors in these undeserved communities have limited- to no-access to a nearby supermarket or large grocery store.

National product shortages, due to supply chain issues caused by the global pandemic, continue to impact production and delivery of things like diapers and wipes, especially to food desert areas, leaving people who need these items in even more of a lurch.

Imagine being in a public restroom and realizing with a sudden rush of panic that your stall is out of toilet paper. While feeling slightly embarrassed, you still probably wouldn’t hesitate to ask a “neighbor” to share, right? You might even laugh together about it as you leave the restroom, crisis averted.

Because everybody needs toilet paper.

There’s little mystery as to the many reasons why we’re all too happy and willing to help our neighbor in a situation like the one described above.

That’s because everyone can relate to it. At one point you may have been the giver and at one point, the receiver.

Now imagine being unable to make it to work because your child has developed a rash or infection all because you don’t have access to diapers and wipes and there’s nobody “in the next stall” to ask to share.

Not only is your baby uncomfortable and perhaps suffering as a result, but you also feel like a failure as a parent for being unable to provide this simple hygiene product for your infant or child. You are ashamed of what people would say and so you remain silent.

Feeling stressed and maybe even depressed, you are afraid of being accused of being a negligent parent and resist reaching out for assistance even from family and close friends who you fear may report you to Child Protective Services.

The hidden crisis known as diaper need – or the inability or access to everyday hygiene products, like diapers and wipes, is real.

We can change that.

By acknowledging there is a problem, putting a name on the problem, and doing something about it, we can help to end the social stigmas that impact so many families in our community.

Backed by your support, together, we can be the neighbor in the next stall.

By creating distribution points for people who need them, working with reliable and like-minded resources, and partnering with organizations and government agencies who recognize change is needed, we can end diaper poverty once and for all.

Donations For Dignity does more than just distribute organic diapers and wipes (51,475+ to date). We’re inspired to distribute hope to families who otherwise feel they are fighting a losing battle.

Nobody should be faced with worrying about whether they’ll have the hygiene products they need to take care of their baby.

Having diapers and wipes means:

• Healthier, happier children

• Improved early development opportunities

• Better parental mental health

• Enhanced family economic well-being 

Donations For Dignity supplies organic products that are free of harmful chemicals. These eco-friendly products are great for the environment, too:

• Natural products help decrease the toxins and chemicals we put into our bodies.

• Harmful herbicides and pesticides aren't used in the making of organic period products, meaning potentially dangerous chemicals don't leach into waterways impacting our soil.

• Organic materials requires less energy and water to grow, which means less overall resources are used.

Our youngest and most vulnerable population should not have their health, well-being, and overall quality of life compromised due to the negative impacts of diaper need.

Grace Upon Grace has been serving under-served people in Northern Colorado since 2019. In 2022 alone, we were able to provide 93,700 diapers and 210,942 wipes to our neighbors in need. Due to increased need and supply chain issues, our budget has been stretched thin providing community families and individuals with diapers, wipes, and other hygiene necessities like period products.

First and foremost, know that your donation is going to purchase diapers and wipes to be distributed to people in your community where the need is the greatest.

But your dollars won’t stop there.

Donations For Dignity is partnering with the Grace Upon Grace Project, a non-profit organization located in Northern Colorado. Your donations will go to stocking the Grace Upon Grace Project’s shelves with enough diapers and wipes for every neighbor that visits.

Beyond making sure people who need diapers and wipes get access now, we want to gain the attention of decision makers who can make changes to prevent diaper need from being an issue for future generations.

Together we can remove the stigma for good.

Diapers and wipes, like some other hygiene products are explicitly excluded right now from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits.

This means those struggling to make ends meet oftentimes must make hard decisions like whether to put food on the table in lieu of buying diapers and wipes.

Currently, there is proposed legislation in nearly 17 states and local jurisdictions related to diaper need, diaper equity, and/or taxation.

Your community needs your help.

Whether you’ve experienced diaper need or not, it’s easy to relate to a parent struggling to meet their basic needs on behalf of their child.

Times are tough and the global pandemic has made them a lot tougher, especially for those who were already caught up in the cycle of poverty.

You can show you care by:

• Learning more about diaper need and its root causes

• Sharing this page with friends and family

• Volunteering your time! Grace Upon Grace Project is always looking for more volunteers looking to help

• Making a recurring donation to fill in the gap

Nobody should ever be made to feel intimated, threatened, or less than because they don’t have access to these important, life changing hygiene products.

You can show someone in your community that you care by getting involved today.