Student-run diaper drive aims to support parents in need

It is no secret that parenthood is difficult. From worrying about their kid’s grades or with whom their kid associates, the average parent has a lot on their plate. For some more than others, however, those struggles are more pressing from the time of their child’s birth, as they must provide diapers and other essentials of the sort in order to protect the health of their children.

For families of lower-income, this is especially difficult. So, Canisius’s Dr. Wanzer and Kyra Laurie teamed up with the non-profit organization Every Bottom Covered — the only diaper bank in Western New York — to try to help. We talked to Kyra about the diaper drive.

Diapers are surprisingly expensive, she explained. “Babies usually go through five or six diapers a day,” Laurie said. “So imagine how many boxes of diapers you have to buy to keep up with that.” The cost of that adds up quickly, which makes it difficult for parents of lower incomes to continue to be able to afford them. There is no escaping that reality for parents: diapers are essential for all young children. Add this to the cost of all of the other necessities of parenthood, and simply meeting the bare minimum to raise a child can be impossible for some.

This reality haunts countless families in the community and is, as mentioned before, essentially inescapable. The drive makes an effort to alleviate even a little bit of that stress. Laurie said, “It’s extremely important to set these families off during the times they’re struggling.”

Already, there have been many donations to the drive. “I think we have a pretty good foundation set right now,” Laurie said, as the various donation sites throughout campus are filling up.

Still, as with every effort to help improve a lot of others, more can always be done and is appreciated. There is no set number of donations for a goal; “We’re just appreciating anything that’s given to us,” she said.

Donations to the cause are being accepted through next Friday, Dec. 10. While monetary donations are the goal of the drive, diapers (as the name would suggest) are gratefully accepted, in addition to pullups, diaper rash cream, wipes and anything else that is necessary for a baby’s health and cleanliness.

Of note, larger (size four through six) diapers are especially needed. These items can be dropped off at boxes at various locations throughout campus, including outside the library, inside the commuters’ lounge, in the Commuter Student Association’s club room, in the communications department at Lyons Hall and at ROTC at Health Science.

There are flyers around campus with more information on them, as well as in the Today at Canisius email from Student Life, with the emails of Laurie and Dr. Wanzer on them. Their emails are open if there are questions.

As the holiday season rolls around, consider those parents and children who are less fortunate and who need a little help. Any donation goes a long way.