By Greg Archer | Contributing Columnist
This season, the Diaper Bank of the Inland Empire, launched by the Junior League of Riverside, is making a difference, one baby bottom at a time, thanks to a recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation.
The Diaper Bank has gotten a major boost of support.
“I’m responsible for making sure we have enough money to cover people’s bottoms,” said Mandy Hyde, fund development director of Junior League of Riverside. “The recent grant funds allowed us to purchase diaper supplies for our community members, which was helpful, because we currently service about 500 children a month, providing them with supplemental diapers to prevent a whole slew of illnesses that come when families can’t afford diapers.”
Those concerns matter to the nonprofit, which Hyde said remains steadfast in addressing local needs.
“Some illnesses can arise with higher incidences of diaper rash and urinary tract infections,” she said. “So, we try to keep children clean, dry, and healthy through our program. It also relieves stress on the families. A recent Yale study showed that moms are more embarrassed by not having enough diapers than they are not having enough food for their children.”
“It’s just one of those things that just weighs on them,” she said.
More than 600,000 diapers (and counting) have been distributed thus far.
The Junior League of Riverside sprang into action in 1928 with a mission to improve the community. Nearly 97 years later, specific initiatives continue to offer peace of mind and resources to the region’s residents.
In addition to the Diaper Bank, other programs stand out. Little Free Libraries, for instance, offers two Riverside “libraries” near the playgrounds at Reid and Ryan Bonaminio parks. The goal is to offer free children’s literature in both Spanish and English to the bilingual community.
The State Public Affairs Committee for the Junior Leagues of California is another noteworthy entity. The non-partisan education and advocacy organization promotes volunteerism and legislation geared to the community projects of 16 Junior Leagues.
The nonprofit is open to all women who reside in the Inland Empire or surrounding communities. Members include residents from Riverside, Moreno Valley, Rancho Cucamonga, Eastvale, Lake Elsinore, Temecula, Redlands, and Beaumont.
Women who have an interest in being engaged in community and civic leadership, and who seek the opportunity to participate in work resulting in meaningful and sustained community impact are welcome, Hyde said.
“Our organization is women, but our volunteer opportunities are open to anybody, especially the Diaper Bank,” she said. “We have businesses who come and do team-building volunteering. I think anybody coming in to volunteer for the Diaper Bank will have their eyes opened on the kind of impact the individual and the organization is having in the community.”
She is quick to also point out how inspiring the work is for volunteers.
“We have volunteers come and they’ll grab the diapers and hand them to the clients,” she said, “but then they’ll get to hear a little bit about people’s stories and how they make an impact on families. It’s eye-opening because diaper need is not something people truly realize is an issue in our community.”
“The impact a package of diapers has on a family can be huge,” she said.
Learn more at juniorleagueriverside.org.
Inland Empire Community Foundation works to strengthen Inland Southern California through philanthropy. Visit iegives.org.
