Diaper Bank Partnership of Lake County now open for donations

It was a sad story at a McHenry food bank. Father Jim Swarthout, executive director of Samaritan Counseling Center in Barrington, held a hungry mother's baby as she went through the bank. Upon mentioning that the child needed a clean diaper, the mother confided in Father Jim – after her husband lost his job, she could only afford two diapers a day. The dirty diaper had to be cleaned out, dried, and placed back on the baby.

Through the heartbreak of the McHenry woman's story came an idea: a diaper bank. Father Jim took that experience to heart and founded the St. Paul Diaper Bank Partnership in McHenry, the first diaper bank in Illinois, in 2009. In 2011, Father Jim combined efforts with the Rev. Fred Rajan, vice president of mission and spiritual care at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington to form the Diaper Bank Partnership of Lake County. The Partnership is based in Wauconda and serves Barrington, Ela and Cuba townships.

Unfortunately, as Father Jim found out that day at the food bank, diaper concerns are a fast-growing epidemic. According to Stephanie Maioriello, Wauconda Township administrator, one in three mothers struggle with diaper needs, consistently having to leave their children in dirty diapers because the cost is too high for new ones. The diaper bank seeks to alleviate this stress in a family's life. In Wauconda, donated diapers will be distributed to social service agencies in the area, who will then distribute the diapers, once a month, to those in need.

"It's really about taking care of the kids and adults who are in desperate need," Father Jim said. "When you are able to give a mother diapers for their child, they just shine."

The number of needy families is higher than one might realize.

"It's really a shame that people in this area can't afford diapers for their children," Wauconda Mayor Mark Knigge said. "It's a need that a lot of people don't even think about."

Part of the problem lies in the fact that safety net programs like food stamps and public aid don't cover diaper expenses, and cloth diapers cannot be brought into a day care or a laundromat. The downturn in the economy coincided with a rise in diaper rash because more and more families were unable to afford disposable diapers.

"I'm sure a mom feels horrible when she can't take care of her baby because they don't have enough money," Maioriello said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Lake County diaper bank on Jan. 25. And the need doesn't end with children.

"It is very intergenerational from children, to youths who have challenges, to seniors who have to use diapers," the Rev. Rajan said.

To this end, diaper drives will be held throughout the county to donate diapers to the bank, and collection boxes will be placed at Good Shepherd Hospital and at various congregations throughout the area.

Zach Auerbach, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Wauconda, will hold the first diaper drive for the Lake County Partnership.

"I feel this is important because there are so many families in Lake County and the surrounding areas that are in need of either funds to buy diapers or diapers themselves," he said. "They're not able to supply diapers for their children, which is a big problem."

Auerbach has placed donation boxes at Vicki's Personal Touch hair salon in Wauconda, the Wauconda Township Building and the Village Hall in Wauconda. To help aid in Auerbach's efforts, he can be reached at 847-436-0300.

"I'll take any and all help," he said. The greatest needs are for varied sized diapers and adult diapers.

To learn more about the National Diaper Bank at large, visit the National Diaper Bank Network's website at www.diaperbanknetwork.org. The Lake County partnership plans to expand diaper bank services to the greater Lake County area within a few months time.