I saw a link in a recent google alert I got for “diaper bank” — the title of it was “i wish for some desperate help” and it was linked to a site called “Tree of Wishes“. Never having heard of it before, I followed the link and found a forum filled with people’s wishes – some general, some for others, some for themselves, but the wish I linked to was from a mother “wishing” for diapers for her children. She said she’d been to her local diaper bank that day and they didn’t have sizes to fit her children. She said she’d just paid her utilities and rent and was out of money until the 1st. She only had 10 diapers left to cover the two children and she had 11 days to go until payday.
This mother turned to a “wishing” forum. Can you imagine feeling like your last best hope in getting the diapers you need for your children is to put an anonymous post on the internet and “wish” what you need into existence? I searched the term “diapers” in the forum and found pages and pages and pages of people “wishing” for help with diapers.
Operating a diaper bank, I’m realistic that we’re not reaching every person in need out there, as much as we want to, but seeing some of the posts on that forum reminds me why it’s so critical we keep working and growing and hoping that some day, we will. And hoping that every community eventually has its own diaper bank, working towards the same goal.
I’ve thought about starting a blog for the Diaper Bank several times before, in fact, I think I even signed up for one at one point, but it never quite “stuck”. So let’s see if this one sticks! I hope to post fairly frequently about items of interest and import and especially over the next few months, the progress of our big “100,000 by Thanksgiving!” Diaper Drive.
If you’ve found your way here to our blog, welcome, and we look forward to sharing how we’re working to make a difference with diapers in Metro Detroit!
