We concluded the Kyleigh’s 5th Birthday Diaper Drive on April 19th and it was another smashing success! This is the third year that we have done a diaper drive to remember Kyleigh on her birthday and this year we focused on size 5’s since Kyleigh would have turned 5.

1 in 3 American families struggle to provide enough diapers to keep their babies happy, healthy and dry. The need for diapers in all sizes is real for many people and size 5 is a big need for HappyBottoms, the local diaper bank that receives all of the donations that are given to us. Once HappyBottoms receives a donation of diapers, the packages are opened up and repackaged into sets of 50 diapers and 30 training pants. This is the amount that each family can receive per month from one of the 35 local social service agencies that partner with HappyBottoms to get the diapers into the hands, and onto the bottoms, of those who need them. The idea behind HappyBottoms is to fill the diaper gap, not the entire need. For more information on HappyBottoms, click here. *Information obtained for this blog post courtesy of happybottoms.org

Map of local agencies that work with HappyBottoms to fill the diaper gap.

We often get asked how we are able to get so many diapers and where we put all of them. Most of the diapers are donated by family and friends who want to remember Kyleigh on her birthday. Other donations come from people who hear about the diaper drive and want to support HappyBottoms. Some donations come from people we do not know and we never know where all of the donations come from because many show up without a gift receipt or card attached. We are very thankful for those who help to spread the word, and that includes HappyBottoms and the Liberty Hospital Foundation. As for where we keep the diapers…we clear a corner of our living room and start stacking! It’s fun to watch the pile grow and a challenge to keep the children from climbing and building forts! Every time we would get a delivery, our two year old would say, “More diapers!”

Of course, we could not do this without the support of delivery drivers. Once the diaper drive gets going, we often find our front porch full of diaper boxes. And some days we get more than one large delivery. We came home on the afternoon of Kyleigh’s birthday to find the front porch full of large boxes. It’s always a fun sight to come home to! We even had a few delivery drivers stop to talk to us about Kyleigh and the diaper drive this year.

And then there’s our ever faithful helpers! Our kids love to help carry the diapers inside, open the cardboard boxes, count the diapers and add them to the ever growing diaper tower!

We delivered all of the diapers just this past weekend in the pouring rain. With help from family, we managed to get all of the diapers into three vehicles and make our way over to HappyBottoms where we had help getting all of the diapers inside. They are always so gracious and give us the grand tour, including the warehouse which is our favorite spot to see! It’s amazing to see so many diapers in one place! I should have taken a picture.

By this point, I’m sure you’re wondering how many diapers we collected this year!

The grand total …

THANK YOU to everyone who played a role in this year’s diaper drive!!! In three years, Kyleigh’s Gift has collected over 30,000 diapers!! That is amazing and we could not do it without your support!

Thank you!!!