Mother-daughter duo collects diapers to support new moms on Mother’s Day
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - When you’re a mom of four, you learn a lot about diapers. With that knowledge, Tegan Reed co-founded the Nebraska Diaper Bank in 2014.
“I’ve been able to raise my kids right alongside the organization,” she said.
The project started as a food pantry that also offered diapers.
“Over the years we realized that diaper need was an unmet need in our community,” said Reed.
A study published in 2023 by the National Diaper Bank Network found nearly half of families in the United States with young children have trouble paying for diapers. Safety net programs like SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid don’t help families pay for diapers either.
Reed and her team shifted their focus to meeting that diaper need, helping families who have to make difficult choices about where to spend their money.
“We really don’t want to have them in that situation,” said Reed.
It’s a situation Devonye Mullins remembers well. She’s a mom of three, had two babies in diapers at one time, and was on WIC.
“Part of the mental stress is, ‘How often do I change my baby? Is my baby going to be healthy? Oh, I’ve got diaper rash now, so now it’s going to cost me more. I need to do something about that,’” said Mullins. “As you have fewer and fewer diapers making those decisions are really hard.”
One of the kids Mullins was making those hard decisions for was her daughter Tegan. Now the mother-daughter duo work together to ensure other families don’t go through the same hardship they did.
“It’s really a joy to have my mom to work with every day,” said Tegan Reed. “To be able to do good in our community together is a blessing.”
They both spent their Mother’s Day with other mothers in mind, but at least they got to spend it together. They, along with other volunteers stationed at Dunkin’ locations across the metro, collected diapers to distribute to families in need.
Last year, the organization handed out 2.8 million diapers to Nebraskan families. The goal this year is to distribute 3.5 million.
If you’re interested in donating, you may do so here.
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