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NC nonprofit working to ease the financial burden of diapers, hygiene products for families in the Charlotte area

“We distributed almost 400,000 diapers last year, that was only 4% of the need last year in Mecklenburg County," Avery Payne with Diaper Bank NC, said. It’s a dream that has blossomed into reality in over a decade.

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“We distributed almost 400,000 diapers last year, that was only 4% of the need last year in Mecklenburg County," Avery Payne with Diaper Bank NC, said.

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Michelle Old Michelle Old

Six GLOW students award $1,000 grant to Diaper Bank of North Carolina

Six Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW) students awarded a $1,000 grant to the Diaper Bank of North Carolina-Lower Cape Fear on Tuesday, March 26.

The students are part of the Student Giving Circle, an initiative of the Women’s Impact Network of New Hanover County.

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Loop Creative Loop Creative

Southern Living Magazine Spotlight

MICHELLE OLD’S eyes were opened to the huge need for diapers after adopting her youngest child. “He was very sick for the first year and a half,” she says of her son, who is now 11 years old. “We were changing him 30 to 40 times a day, but he’d still end up in the emergency room with diaper rashes. His body could not fight off any type of infection or irritation.”

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MICHELLE OLD’S eyes were opened to the huge need for diapers after adopting her youngest child. “He was very sick for the first year and a half,” she says of her son, who is now 11 years old. “We were changing him 30 to 40 times a day, but he’d still end up in the emergency room with diaper rashes. His body could not fight off any type of infection or irritation.”

The mother of three recognized it was a privilege to be able to provide the hygienic care he needed, and she devoted herself to ensuring other parents could do the same. She started small, packing a laundry hamper full of diapers into a van and donating them around Durham. Her goal that first year was to give away 50,000. In the decade since, Old’s organization, the Diaper Bank of North Carolina, has created four centers across the state and supplied more than 23 million diapers to residents. “One in three families in the United States lacks access to clean diapers,” explains Old. “Government programs like WIC and SNAP (or food stamps) don’t cover them, and they can cost over $100 a month. People are literally choosing between buying groceries or diapers.” Old says that when parents and guardians are in this situation, they pick food first. That is a decision she doesn’t want families to face. Her organization partners with food pantries, other nonprofits, and schools so those who need hygiene supplies (including period and adult-incontinence products) receive them. If you’re interested in launching a similar effort in your own community, Old advises starting small. “It’s as simple as putting up a collection box, spreading the word to your network, gathering diapers or other resources, and picking a program to distribute those items through,” she says.

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Ryan Pogue Ryan Pogue

The Diaper Bank of NC Covers the Basics

Founded in 2013 by Michelle Old, this organization distributes diaper and hygiene products to babies, teens, women and seniors. Once a week, every week, for a few hours each time, Kathy Hohneker heads to a cold but vibrant 12,000 square- foot warehouse in Durham.

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