- 350,000 diapers distributed in the past year to neighborhoods across Mid-Michigan, helping families in need with both child and adult diapers.
- 3-Degree Guarantee donation to the Capital Area Diaper Bank will go toward replenishing high-demand diaper sizes, especially for children in need before the Lansing Mall location closes.
- Watch the video above
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Meet Linda Karl, the director of the Capitol Area Diaper Bank.
“A lot of diapers go out of here, 350,000 in this last year,” said Karl.
Those diapers are distributed to neighborhoods around Mid-Michigan, including diaper banks in Mason, Holt, and here at this walk-in diaper bank at the Lansing Mall where I talked with Karl.
WATCH VIDEO: LINDA KARL EXPLAINS THE IMPORTANCE OF DISPOSABLE DIAPERS
The diaper bank is run by volunteers, opening up two times a week to distribute free diapers to families in need.
“We service 300 children in eight days and that’s two hours for each of those eight days,” said Karl.
Helping hundreds of children, like Megan’s.
“It’s meant a lot because it’s helped my family get through hard times and made sure we don't have to be frugal with diapers and other basic needs,” said Megan.
And it’s not just families with children. Valerie Wilhoite picks up adult diapers for her friends who are homebound.
“They're pretty expensive, it's a situation where we would not have them because they are very expensive.” Said Wilhoite.
As your Delta Township neighborhood reporter, I’ve been showing you the many neighbors that this diaper bank is helping.
A funding shortfall recently hit the diaper bank, but through our reporting, we learned that the state will be replenishing funds, to the tune of more than 4 million dollars.
But more recently, I showed you that this location is set to close because of a dispute with the Lansing Mall.
The Mall sent us a statement for our original story on that. The statement said in part:
"This decision is driven solely by the desire to support the nonprofit's continued growth and the need for a space that better serves its mission."
Prior Stories:
With all of that said, this location is closing, and so the future of the help they provide is uncertain.
“It’s going to hurt so many people, I’m sorry, I’m hoping and believing that there’s somebody out there that sees the value in what we do,” said Karl.
That’s why I chose this month’s 3-Degree Guarantee partner to be the Capital Area Diaper Bank—to help as many families as possible before this location closes.
Karl says she plans to use the money to replenish their most in-demand diaper sizes.
“Well, I will tell you if you look at my shelves of 5's, 6's, and 7's that are the most needed, I can buy about 30 boxes for those sizes for this diaper bank,” said Karl.
And for the families who receive the diapers...
“It’s wonderful for them because many times they have to decide whether they’re going to pay for a bill or for diapers,” said Karl.
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