Why We're Doing This

Diapers are expensive. Every parent knows that. But changing diapers – a lot of them – is a chore that seems insignificant amid the joy of bringing a baby into the world.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case for hundreds of families in Northwest Connecticut who are struggling to make ends meet. The cost of diapers, which can be as high as $100 a month for an infant, is an expense that, combined with higher gas prices and other costs, forces low-income parents to choose between diapers and essentials such as proper nutrition for their children or themselves.

Diapers are so expensive that some babies are left in a single soiled diaper all day as their parents try to stretch their budget. In addition to rashes and disease, this can lead to increased instances of child abuse as desperate parents attempt to silence a baby who is, because of their diaper, crying all the time.

And while food stamps, WIC and local food banks can help out with some food and formula, diapers are an “essential” not typically covered by such programs.

That’s where the Northwest Connecticut Diaper Drive hopes to step in. A joint effort by the United Way of Northwest Connecticut and The Register Citizen newspaper, its goal over the next two months is to raise money to supply diapers to low-income families throughout the year via nine local social service agencies and food banks.

Like the newspaper’s and United Way’s joint sponsorship of the Warm the Children winter clothing program around the holidays each year, the Diaper Drive is structured so that 100 percent of every dollar donated will go directly toward purchasing diapers.

Join the Diaper Drive

Donations of any size – from $1 to $1,000 – will help the most helpless of Northwest Connecticut’s needy residents with a basic necessity, a clean and dry diaper.

100 percent of the money donated to the Northwest Connecticut Diaper Drive goes to buying diapers … volunteers and our sponsors do the rest. And as a program of the United Way of Northwest Connecticut, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, donations are tax-deductible.

Send donations to: Northwest Connecticut Diaper Drive, c/o The Register Citizen, 190 Water St., Torrington, CT 06790.

Or Click Here to donate online. Be sure to check “Yes” where it asks if you want your funds to be directed to the United Way’s Diaper Delivery program.

Questions? Email us at: diapers@registercitizen.com