Highlights
The Metropolitan Detroit Diaper Bank stepped up in pandemic, handing out a million diapers in 2020, up from 300,000 in 2019.
Babies need three things – love, milk and diapers. It’s a fact of life.
Mothers provide love and milk, but diapers can become an issue because of their expense.
“It’s not simple, it’s basic. Babies don’t need diapers for long but when they need them they need them,’’ said Veronica Claybrone, founder and director of the Metropolitan Detroit Diaper Bank which serves Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
She started the bank, which is affiliated with the National Diaper Bank, in 2015. The need was apparent then and has grown more desperate since the pandemic started in 2020.
The goal is to give 100 diapers per month per baby.
In 2019 the Metropolitan Detroit Diaper Bank distributed about 300,000 diapers.
That number more than tripled to over a million in 2020.
That translates to a much bigger expense. Claybrone said her annual budget has gone from $50,000 to $300,000. Huggies started the first national diaper bank and they give deep discounts to diaper banks around the country. Claybrone wouldn’t say how much they charge per diaper.
So far she hasn’t seen a disposable diaper shortage even with the supply chain woes that affect so many products. She did have some trouble ordering baby wipes which the banks also provides.
“They’re coming pretty much OK, but the price is rising. We have the vendors we’re dealing with directly. I’m trying to place an order now but I need $50,000. I want the warehouse to be full in case that supply chain breaks down,’’ Claybrone said.
“We’re a bank, we want to have what you need when you need it. I’m raising the money and doing what we have to do to be able to place that big order,’’ she added.
She said Kimberly Clark along with Proctor and Gamble make most of the diapers in the United States.
Parents who need diapers sign up online at DetroitDiaperBank.com/diapers. They are delivered monthly to 14 locations in the metro Detroit area including one in Pontiac and two in Warren.
They are still operating under strict COVID precautions so the pickups are drive-through. Also during the pandemic the rules have been relaxed.
“If you’re asking me for diapers for one baby I don’t ask you for anything, but we’re not in normal times,’’ Claybrone said. “If we were in normal times, we would be sitting inside of a building and we have a site director and volunteers and they would ask for a birth certificate or a shot record to prove you have these children. At this point we don’t do it, for the safety of our people.’’
If parents have more than one kid, they can get diapers for each one. Disposable diapers are best for most parents struggling financially because laundromats don’t allow cloth diapers in their machines.
The bank has some safeguards written into the online system that allow only one sign-up per month per child.
“We’re mobile, we’re looking to add more sites in different areas. The problem is we don’t only need diapers, we need trucks and we need truck drivers,’’ Claybrone said. “Lots of grant funding comes out for diapers. They’ll give you money for programs but they won’t give you money for staff.’’
As a non-profit she depends on grants and donations.
“People just do great things. Last night we had an event with a teacher’s organization. They gave us $1,600. We do individual fundraising, we do aggressive fundraising,’’ Claybrone said. “I learned how to write grants prior to the pandemic, I’ve perfected it somewhat during the pandemic. We basically kind of know we have to have so much money.’’
Priority Health, their first corporate partner, sponsored them through September and October which was a huge help. The Fisher Foundation has been a sponsor for a few years and kicked in extra money during the pandemic.
Diapers for babies are just one of four things they offer. The bank also provides period supplies for girls and young women, senior diapers for the incontnent and virtual toilet training.
“It’s a big job, it’s one I bit off and we’re doing pretty good chewing at it,’’ Claybrone said. “My mission is to alleviate diaper need. There should not be such a thing that a baby or senior citizen needs a diaper.’’
DetroitDiaperBank.com features a donation page with an address where money can be sent.
“I appreciate it if people want to do a diaper drive, I don’t discourage them. They can contact me. I’ll assist them to do the drive,’’ Claybrone said. “I don’t frown on them, but I want people to know I have more buying power than they have.’’
